Ruto heads to Moscow for high-stakes Putin meeting over Kenyans allegedly forced to fight in Ukraine war

President William Ruto during a past meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ruto heads to Moscow for talks with Putin over Kenyans sent to fight in Ukraine. (Photo: PCS)

President William Ruto is heading to Moscow this weekend for the Russia-Africa Summit, marking his first visit to the Russian capital since taking office in 2022, a trip he has actively avoided until now, sources told this outlet.

The visit signals a dramatic shift in Nairobi’s approach to Moscow, coming after years in which Ruto kept the Kremlin at arm’s length, openly aligning Kenya’s priorities with Western partners and condemning Russian aggression in Ukraine.

However, a domestic crisis has forced a diplomatic recalibration.

Preparations for the third Russia-Africa Summit have entered their final stage, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The event will be co-hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Burundi’s President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who currently serves as the Chair of the African Union.

The primary driver of Ruto’s sudden trip to Moscow is not geopolitics but a humanitarian and political scandal unfolding at home.

Kenyan intelligence services believe that more than 1,000 young Kenyans have been lured to Russia with promises of well-paid civilian jobs, only to be press-ganged into the military and sent to the frontlines in Ukraine.

Rogue recruitment agencies have been accused of deceiving the men, who reportedly receive minimal training before being forced into combat.

The alleged mass conscription has triggered a furious domestic backlash, putting pressure on the government to secure the release and return of affected Kenyans.

In March, Ruto dispatched his top diplomat, Musalia Mudavadi, to Moscow to engage Russian authorities and secure the release of the Kenyans. However, little has materialised since that visit.

Ruto’s upcoming trip represents a high-stakes escalation of those efforts.

When he sits down with Putin, the conversation is expected to go beyond agricultural trade and grain supplies, with the human toll of the war taking centre stage in their bilateral meeting.

Ruto is expected to directly press his host on the conscription crisis, demanding the immediate repatriation of Kenyans who have been forced to the frontlines and do not wish to fight.

Crucially, he is also expected to negotiate the return of the remains of those who have already died in combat, offering grieving families back home a measure of closure.

It is a significant diplomatic challenge. The Kremlin rarely concedes to external pressure, particularly on matters concerning its military operations.

For Ruto, however, returning home empty-handed is becoming an increasingly difficult political option as pressure mounts to bring the affected Kenyans home.

Although Russia’s trade and investment footprint in Africa remains smaller than that of China or the United States, Moscow has aggressively expanded its security diplomacy across the continent.

The Kremlin frames its African policy around building a multipolar world order, countering Western influence and easing its own economic isolation.

African countries, meanwhile, are seeking pragmatic and diversified partnerships, security support and agricultural benefits.

For Ruto, the summit offers an opportunity to secure critical deals on fertiliser, a vital agricultural input that could help lower production costs and ease the cost of living in Kenya.

But the visit also presents a diplomatic dilemma, forcing him to stand alongside the very leader whose war has ensnared Kenyan citizens.