Putin faces African anger in Moscow on ‘coercive’ recruits to Russian army in Ukraine

Kenyan President William Ruto's request for Russia to help repatriate Kenyans recruited for the Ukraine war has gone unanswered by Vladimir Putin. This comes ahead of a Russia-Africa summit where concerns about African nationals being recruited into the Russian military were raised by officials from Nigeria and South Africa. Amnesty International has called on African leaders to demand an end to such recruitment practices, emphasizing the need for sovereignty and rejecting the commodification of African nationals. The Kremlin has not publicly addressed the issue, despite the attendance of numerous African leaders at the summit.