cross-posted from: https://mander.xyz/post/47393386

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.

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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.

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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.

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