Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (UDI) has confirmed that two Nigerian nationals, Hamzat Kazeem Kolawole and Mbah Stephen Udoka, were killed while fighting as Russian mercenaries during combat operations in the Luhansk region.
In a statement released on Thursday, UDI said its operatives recovered the bodies of the two men during battlefield assessments, alongside photographs showing their military poses before deployment and a family image.
“In the Luhansk region, military intelligence operatives discovered the bodies of two citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria — Hamzat Kazeen Kolawole (03.04.1983) and Mbah Stephen Udoka (07.01.1988),” the statement said.
According to the intelligence agency, both Nigerians served with the 423rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division of the Russian Armed Forces. UDI disclosed that Kolawole signed his contract with the Russian military on August 29, 2025, while Udoka followed on September 28, 2025.
The agency revealed that Udoka was deployed to the battlefield almost immediately, without undergoing any form of military training.
“Udoka received no training whatsoever — just five days later, on October 3, he was assigned to the unit and sent to the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” the report stated.
While no official training records were found for Kolawole, UDI said it was highly probable that he also received little or no preparation before deployment. The agency added that Kolawole is survived by his wife and three children in Nigeria.
Both men were reportedly killed in late November during an attempted assault on Ukrainian positions in Luhansk. UDI clarified that they did not die in a direct gun battle.
“They never engaged in a firefight — the mercenaries were eliminated by a drone strike,” the statement said.
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The intelligence agency issued a strong warning to foreign nationals, urging them to avoid traveling to Russia or accepting job offers linked to the Russian military.
“A trip to Russia is a real risk of being forced into a ‘suicide’ assault unit and, ultimately, rotting in Ukrainian soil,” UDI cautioned.
The development aligns with growing reports of Russia allegedly luring Africans into military service through deceptive job offers. Recent investigations indicate that thousands of recruits from Africa have been misled into frontline combat roles, often with little or no training, leading to heavy casualties.