Kenyans lured to Russia's frontline
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Kenyan authorities recently reported that 200 of their citizens are fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Many of them have reported that they travelled to Russia after replying to job adverts for roles as drivers, security guards and cooks. It was only on arrival that they were sent for military training, and then sent to the battlefield in Ukraine.BBC Newsday's David Wafula has spoken to families trying to find sons and brothers, lost in Russia's war.
In September 2025 a wave of anti-government protests swept through Indonesia. Bali, however, remained free from demonstrations. Academics and sociologists say this is due to a legacy of terror from the island's 1965 communist purge. This brutal period taught communities a chilling lesson: dissent leads to annihilation. As a result, many Balinese people have become conditioned to avoid confrontation and suppress negative opinions, especially concerning the tourism sector. Tri Wahyuni of BBC Indonesian has looked into Bali's relationship with tourism and its own history.
In Panna, a diamond mining region in central India, two childhood friends recently made a discovery that they think could change their lives forever. They had rented a small patch of land in the hopes of finding diamonds, and after only 19 days of digging they found one worth an estimated $55,000. Vishnukant Tiwari reports for the BBC in central India and spoke to the brothers.
This episode of The Documentary comes to you from The Fifth Floor, the show at the heart of global storytelling, with BBC journalists from all around the world.
Presented by Faranak Amidi.
Produced by Laura Thomas and Caroline Ferguson
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome to the documentary from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:13.8 | You're listening The Fifth Floor. |
| 0:18.1 | The Fifth Floor, you know you, listen. |
| 0:20.0 | The Fifth Floor, Farnak, Amid, Isobat. The fifth floor is You're listening. We're with us. |
| 0:24.7 | This is the fifth floor, Farnak Amidi, Subt. |
| 0:31.2 | This is the fifth floor at the heart of global storytelling with BBC journalists from all around the world. |
| 0:35.0 | I'm your host, Faranak Amidi. |
| 0:41.8 | Thank you. from all around the world. I'm your host, Faranak Amidi. Kenyan authorities say that there are 200 Kenyans |
| 0:45.4 | who are currently fighting for Russia in its war in Ukraine. |
| 0:49.2 | Some have been rescued and others captured by Ukrainian forces, |
| 0:53.0 | and many of them claim that they were lured |
| 0:55.4 | into fighting in the war by the promise of jobs, only to find out on arrival that they were |
| 1:01.2 | actually going to be sent to the front lines. David Wafula of BBC Africa has been speaking |
| 1:07.6 | to the mother of a man, also called David, who found himself caught up in Russia's war. |
| 1:12.9 | I asked him when he first heard about this story. |
| 1:16.7 | It was quite an interesting story when you just go onto social media |
| 1:19.5 | and you're looking for stories. |
| 1:21.8 | We bumped into a post from David's mother asking the wayabouts of the son |
| 1:26.1 | and trying to ask help. |
| 1:27.8 | They were already emerging reports of Kenyans being recruited to fight in Ukraine, |
| 1:32.2 | but there was very little detail about how they were getting there. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.