Vincent Odhiambo says a promised shopkeeping job in Russia led to military service in Ukraine.
Vincent Odhiambo says recruiters promised shopkeeping work but sent him into combat, where he suffered serious injuries and lost fellow Kenyan recruits.
Vincent Odhiambo has recounted a Russian frontline ordeal after travelling abroad for a promised shopkeeping job. He says he instead entered military service and suffered serious injuries while fighting in Ukraine.
The former Nairobi shopkeeper travelled to Russia with five other Kenyans on July 13, 2025. Recruiters had promised monthly earnings of 240,000 to 320,000 rubles, roughly Ksh383,000 to Ksh519,000.
However, Odhiambo says officials took their passports upon arrival in Moscow and directed them to open bank accounts. They also forced the recruits to sign Russian-language documents and denied them internet access to translate the papers.
Job promise becomes Russian frontline ordeal
Odhiambo began searching for overseas work in May 2025, but agency registration fees discouraged him and a friend. They then met a man offering Russian jobs without the Ksh30,000 registration charge other agencies demanded.
The recruiter claimed the Kenyan and Russian governments would cover their visas and flights. Instead, Odhiambo says, the group travelled to a military camp near St Petersburg, where officials declared them soldiers.
He refused to sign a military contract and asked to return home. However, officials demanded 3.4 million rubles, about Ksh5.5 million, for his return to Kenya.
After further transfers, he received about a week of training, mainly on handling and firing a gun. On the fifth day, the recruits gained internet access to contact their families for the first time since arriving.
Odhiambo later moved towards Vovchansk in Ukraine, joining 27 other men crossing exposed fields towards frontline positions. He says drones and gunfire killed fellow recruits as they crossed the open ground.
Injuries, hospital treatment and embassy escape
While fleeing, Odhiambo discarded his weapon and other equipment to move faster, keeping only his body armour. A drone strike badly injured his right hand after he sought cover behind a body.
He later sheltered in a trench with another wounded man, who helped dress his injuries. Odhiambo also alleges that a Russian soldier shot him in the thigh after he failed to save urine for drinking.
A Russian man eventually helped him leave the frontline, beginning a journey that lasted 15 days. He subsequently reached a Moscow hospital, but his hand injury still requires surgery.
Meanwhile, access to his phone revealed that withdrawals had emptied his bank account of pay and bonuses. Hospital staff later told him he would return to combat in September 2025, prompting him to seek escape.
After repeated attempts, Odhiambo reached the Kenyan embassy in Moscow by phone. He then obtained permission for a three-hour visit and refused to return to the hospital.
The National Intelligence Service estimates that more than 1,000 Kenyans have been drawn into fighting in the conflict.
