Ukraine Identifies Two Nigerians Killed Fighting for Russia, Despite Denial Of State-Sponsored Recruitment
Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has publicly identified two Nigerian citizens who were killed while serving in the Russian Armed Forces during the ongoing war in eastern Ukraine.
The announcement highlights what Ukrainian officials describe as a growing pattern of foreign recruits—many from Africa—being deployed to high-risk frontlines with minimal preparation.
The individuals were named as Hamzat Kazeen Kolawole, born April 3, 1983, and Mbah Stephen Udoka, born January 7, 1988.
According to HUR, their bodies were discovered by Ukrainian military intelligence operatives in Luhansk Oblast, a region under partial Russian occupation and the site of intense fighting.
Both men served in the 423rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment (military unit 91701), part of the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division of the Russian Armed Forces.
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Documents recovered at the scene showed that Kolawole signed a contract with the Russian military on August 29, 2025, and Udoka on September 28, 2025.
Ukrainian intelligence stated that Udoka received virtually no military training—only five days—before being assigned to his unit on October 3, 2025, and deployed to occupied Ukrainian territories.
No training records were found for Kolawole, though officials suggested he likely received similarly limited preparation.
Kolawole is survived by his wife and three children in Nigeria.
The two men were killed in late November 2025 during an attempted assault on Ukrainian positions in Luhansk Oblast.
HUR emphasized that they “never engaged in a firefight” and were eliminated by a drone strike—a common tactic in the attritional warfare that has characterized much of the conflict’s eastern front.
The announcement comes amid broader Ukrainian claims of increasing numbers of African nationals fighting as Russian mercenaries or contract soldiers.
