Ukraine’s military intelligence agency says they have identified two Nigerian citizens who were killed while serving in Russian forces in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast.
Russia has been repeatedly accused, by Ukraine and other countries, of recruiting foreign nationals often under misleading promises - particularly from Africa and the Middle East - with little or no training and sending them into frontline assaults in Ukraine with a high risk of death.
Deployed to the front in five days with zero training
In a statement published on 12 February, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) said its operatives discovered the bodies of Hamzat Kazeen Kolawole, 42, and Mbah Stephen Udoka, 37.
According to HUR, both men had signed contracts with the Russian army in the second half of 2025.
HUR said Udoka received no military training. Five days after signing his contract, on 3 October, he was assigned to his unit and deployed to Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine.
No training records for Kolawole were found, and Ukrainian intelligence assessed it was highly likely he also received no formal preparation. HUR noted that Kolawole is survived by his wife and three children in Nigeria.
Killed by a drone strike before they ever fired a shot
Both men were killed in late November during an attempted assault on Ukrainian positions in Luhansk Oblast. According to the statement, they did not engage in direct combat and were eliminated by a Ukrainian drone strike.
HUR described the assault as a “meat” attack and said the number of identified Russian mercenaries from African countries killed in Ukraine is increasing.
The agency warned foreign nationals against traveling to Russia or accepting employment offers there, stating that individuals risk being coerced into frontline assault units and sent into high-casualty operations.
