More than 1,000 Kenyan citizens have reportedly been recruited to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine.

Kenyan MP Kimani Ichungwah said the figure is based on a joint report by intelligence agencies and the Criminal Investigation Department, The Caspian Post reports, citing Le Monde.

The number is significantly higher than the 200 recruits previously acknowledged by authorities.

Ichungwah said many of those recruited left Kenya on tourist visas, traveling through Istanbul and Abu Dhabi before joining the Russian army. Some Kenyans working abroad reportedly traveled to Russia directly from their countries of residence.

According to the lawmaker, recruits signed military contracts offering monthly salaries ranging from €920 to €2,400 through a Nairobi-based recruitment agency.

As of February, 28 recruits were reported missing, 35 were in camps or military bases, 89 were on the front lines, and 39 were hospitalized. Another 30 Kenyans have since been repatriated.

The report alleges that recruitment agencies worked with corrupt staff at Nairobi’s airport, as well as with national employment services and employees of the Russian Embassy in Nairobi and the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow.