Ukrainian forces have pinpointed two Nigerian men, Hamzat Kolawole and Mbah Udoka, as casualties among Russian ranks in the ongoing conflict, with their remains recovered in the contested Luhansk area after a failed incursion last November.
The pair, who enlisted with Moscow’s military in the latter half of 2025, lacked any combat preparation before deployment, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. Mbah Udoka, who signed on without training, was dispatched to occupied zones just five days later on October 3, the agency detailed.
No preparation logs exist for Hamzat Kolawole, though officials deem it probable he too went untrained. “Mbah Udoka received no training at all,” the intelligence report stated, adding that he “left behind a wife and three children in Nigeria.”
The men perished during a November 2025 push to overrun Ukrainian defenses in Luhansk, felled by a drone attack rather than direct combat, per the account.
Their fates underscore a surge in African enlistments for Russia since 2025, often enticed by false pledges of jobs, salaries or schooling, only to face frontline perils. Probes by outlets like CNN claimed that youths from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda fell prey to sham employment schemes.
The war, nearing four years, has claimed roughly two million lives among Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, as per a New York Times analysis, amid reports of widespread foreign exploitation.
Nigerian authorities issued no immediate response to the disclosures.
