Moscow has reportedly prohibited the recruitment of mercenaries from specific countries, including Kenya, following an outcry from several African nations regarding Russian defense contractors enlisting their citizens, according to a Russian newspaper.
Kenya is identified as a leading supplier of mercenaries in the conflict against Ukraine, with Ben Stimson, a Briton, playing a prominent role in recruiting and training mercenaries from Africa. Stimson had announced in January that he would no longer recruit mercenaries from Nigeria and Kenya to fight for Russia. Stimson, a former British soldier, initially fled to Russia in 2015 after the annexation of Crimea and joined a pro-Russian militia group.
He was arrested in the UK in 2017 and charged with terrorism based on a video interview he gave to the BBC in Russia, for which he was sentenced and served time before being released early on parole in 2023.
As a condition of his parole, Stimson was required to report regularly to the police and wear a GPS tracking device. However, he reportedly lied about traveling to Turkey and instead went to Moscow, where he significantly contributed to recruiting and training mercenaries from English-speaking countries.
The banned recruitment list comprises Algeria, Angola, Ghana, Guinea, Egypt, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, South Africa, Afghanistan, Bahrain, Vietnam, Israel, India, Jordan, Iran, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Laos, Nepal, UAE, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Cuba, Nicaragua, Brazil, and Venezuela.
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