Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate has claimed that two Nigerian nationals lost their lives while serving in the Russian military during ongoing fighting in the Luhansk region.
According to the Ukrainian agency, the deceased were identified as Hamzat Kazeen Kolawole (born April 3, 1983) and Mbah Stephen Udoka (born January 7, 1988). They were reportedly discovered dead in late November after an attempted assault on Ukrainian positions.
The statement alleged that both men had signed contracts with the Russian army in the second half of 2025 and were attached to the 423rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division under the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
Ukrainian officials further claimed that Udoka was deployed to occupied Ukrainian territory just days after signing his contract, allegedly without undergoing formal military training. Kolawole’s training records, they said, were unavailable but likely similar.
The agency stated that the two men were eliminated in a drone strike during the operation and did not engage in direct combat before their deaths. Kolawole is reported to have left behind a wife and three children in Nigeria.
Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence used the disclosure to warn foreign nationals about the risks of traveling to Russia for work, cautioning that some recruits could end up in frontline assault units.
The development follows earlier denials from Russian authorities regarding any formal recruitment of Nigerians into the conflict.
