Ruto secures Putin deal to stop recruitment of Kenyans into Russian army
Kenya and Russia agreed at the Kremlin on Thursday to designate Kenya a non-source country for Russian military recruitment, State House said. Ruto has appointed a Defence Attaché in Moscow to help repatriate and compensate affected Kenyans.
President William Ruto and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in Moscow on Thursday to stop the recruitment of Kenyans into the Russian military, State House said. Kenya will be designated a non-source country for Russian military recruitment. The leaders reached the deal in bilateral talks after the Third Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum ended, The Eastleigh Voice reported. Ruto said he had told Putin that he had appointed a Defence Attaché at the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow. The attaché will work with the Russian Ministry of Defence to repatriate Kenyans who travelled to Russia for military purposes. The official will also help arrange compensation for affected Kenyans and coordinate their safe return home. The deal follows months of warnings from Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the Daily Nation reported. In April he said at least 252 Kenyans had been recruited into Russian military operations, many through illegal networks. On October 9 he told a joint sitting of Senate committees that the government had documented 354 Kenyans linked to the conflict. Of these, 84 were reported killed or missing in action, 62 had been repatriated and five…
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