Ukrainian troops have captured a Kenyan national fighting for Russia during clashes near the town of Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast, the 57th Motorised Infantry Brigade said on Sept. 17, The Kyiv Independent reported.

The man, who gave his name as Evans and described himself as an athlete in civilian life, said he had travelled to Russia as a tourist before being tricked into joining the army.

“I ended up in Russia without knowing that I had been enlisted in the Russian army. I had never served before,” he said in a video released by the brigade.

According to Evans, the host who received him in Russia offered him a job and gave him documents to sign that turned out to be a military contract.

“After I signed, he took my passport and phone, saying he would return them. From that moment on, other people came for me. They told me to get in the car,” he is quoted as saying by The Kyiv Independent.

He described chaotic training and said that after only a week of drills he was sent to a camp where soldiers were grabbed by their clothes while orders were shouted. Evans later fled to Ukrainian troops, who gave him food and water. He said that had he returned to Russian forces, he would have been killed.

The case highlights how Russia has been recruiting foreigners, often through deception, to fight in Ukraine. It raises concerns about coercion and the exploitation of foreign nationals, while also exposing diplomatic risks for countries whose citizens are drawn into the war.

It comes as Moscow steps up efforts to expand its influence across Africa, using state-controlled outlets such as TASS and RT alongside recruitment networks, while nations such as Kenya face food insecurity due to disruptions in Ukrainian grain supplies, Militarnyi reported.

Evans said other recruits included Russians, Belarusians, Tajiks and Africans. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in August that Russian units operating in Kharkiv Oblast included mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and several African countries.

Kenyan President William Ruto has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, describing it as unjust.

Russia’s recruitment push has also targeted women aged 18 to 22 from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, South Sudan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Sri Lanka, Daily Express reported.