President William Ruto travels to Moscow this weekend for what the report describing the trip calls the third Russia-Africa Summit, his first visit to the Russian capital since taking office in 2022. The trip is expected to put him in direct talks with President Vladimir Putin at a time when a Kenyan intelligence assessment believes more than 1,000 of its citizens have been lured to Russia with job promises and pushed into combat in Ukraine.

According to the intelligence assessment, young Kenyans were recruited on the promise of well-paid civilian work before being press-ganged into military service. Rogue recruitment agencies are accused of deceiving men who had minimal training and then sending them to the front lines. The figure has not been independently confirmed.

In March, Ruto dispatched Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi to Moscow to engage Russian authorities and secure the release of affected Kenyans. Little has materialised publicly since that mission, leaving the issue unresolved as the president prepares for the bilateral meeting with Putin.

Ruto is expected to press for the immediate repatriation of Kenyans who have been forced to the frontlines and do not wish to fight. He is also expected to negotiate the return of the remains of those who have already died in combat. Both demands are described as expected outcomes of the planned bilateral meeting, not confirmed agreements.

The summit is in its final preparation stage, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. The same ministry has said Putin is co-hosting the gathering with Burundian President Évariste Ndayishimiye, who currently chairs the African Union.

Beyond the reported conscription scandal, Ruto is seeking deals on fertiliser and other agricultural inputs that could lower production costs and ease the cost of living in Kenya. Those talks remain at an opportunity stage and no agreements have been announced.

Russia’s trade and investment footprint in Africa is smaller than that of China or the United States, though Moscow has aggressively expanded its security diplomacy across the continent. That context shapes what Nairobi can realistically extract from the summit.

The exact date of Ruto’s departure has not been specified. It also remains unconfirmed whether Putin will agree to the repatriation and remains requests, or whether the planned bilateral meeting will produce any binding outcome.