How Africans became the dogs of war in ongoing deadly Russia-Ukraine fight
Relatives of Kenyans believed to be fighting for Russia in Ukraine attend a demonstration demanding accountability for all Kenyans in Russia, in downtown Nairobi, Kenya, February 19, 2026.
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict felt far removed from Africa. Governments such as Kenya’s condemned the assault as “the embers of dead empires.” The African Union avoided taking sides.
The continent instead grappled with grain shortages and the racist treatment of Africans fleeing the war. Four years later, the conflict is no longer distant. This week, Kenya revealed that as many as 1,000 nationals had been drafted into the Russian military, helping it fight a war they had little to do with.
