Forced Mercenaries: How Russia Dupes Kenyans into Fighting in Ukraine
One thought he was getting a job driving a truck in Russia. Another says he was invited to run in a race. Both ended up being forced to fight in Putin's war.
ManyPress Editorial Team
ManyPress Editorial
One thought he was getting a job driving a truck in Russia. Another says he was invited to run in a race. Both ended up being forced to fight in Putin's war.
By Dialika Neufeld und Jonathan Stock in Kenya and Ukraine Sie können den Artikel leider nicht mehr aufrufen. Der Link, der Ihnen geschickt wurde, ist entweder älter als 30 Tage oder der Artikel wurde bereits 10 Mal geöffnet. Dancan Chege is a polite, God-fearing young man, but he can no longer call her anything but "this fucking agent" – the woman, this Virginia, who, as he says, lured him to Russia. He is unable to call her and demand answers, he says, because she has blocked his number. Nor can he go to her office in Nairobi, he says, because he is afraid he might end up killing her. It’s a weekend in late February and the sky is overcast in Kiambu County, in the highlands of Kenya, an hour and a half by car from the capital. Red earth, black-and-white monkeys in the trees, lots of small churches. Dancan Chege welcomes his visitors into his house of blue corrugated iron between tea plantations and banana plants. DER SPIEGEL relies on support from its readers. To enjoy the rest of this story, please consider signing up for a subscription to The German View, our English-language channel on Substack. The article can be found here and our Substack channel can be found here . Alternatively, you can sign up for a SPIEGEL+ subscription below.
Key points
- By Dialika Neufeld und Jonathan Stock in Kenya and Ukraine Sie können den Artikel leider nicht mehr aufrufen.
- Der Link, der Ihnen geschickt wurde, ist entweder älter als 30 Tage oder der Artikel wurde bereits 10 Mal geöffnet.
- Dancan Chege is a polite, God-fearing young man, but he can no longer call her anything but "this fucking agent" – the woman, this Virginia, who, as he says, lured him to Russia.
- He is unable to call her and demand answers, he says, because she has blocked his number.
- Nor can he go to her office in Nairobi, he says, because he is afraid he might end up killing her.
This article was independently rewritten by ManyPress editorial AI from reporting originally published by Der Spiegel International.
