Ukrainian Intelligence Identifies Two More Kenyans Killed Fighting for Russia

The bodies of two more Kenyan nationals recruited by Russia to fight against Ukraine have been found near the city of Lyman in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported on February 6..

According to HUR, the deceased were identified as Ombwori Denis Bagaka, born in 1987, and Wahome Simon Gititu, born in 1991. Their remains were discovered close to the body of another Kenyan mercenary, Clinton Nyapara Mogesa, whose death had been reported earlier by Ukrainian intelligence.

Ukrainian officials say all three Kenyans were recruited in Qatar, where they had been working for private security companies and earning stable incomes. Russian recruiters allegedly lured them with promises of higher and faster pay in exchange for joining Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Bagaka and Mogesa arrived in Russia on September 27, 2025, reporting to a contract recruitment center in the city of Yaroslavl. Gititu joined them a month later, on October 28. HUR said a Kyrgyz national, Salizhan Uulu Almambet, played a key role as a handler for the mercenaries, signing contracts with the Russian army on their behalf and taking control of their bank accounts.

From Yaroslavl, the Kenyan nationals were sent to the Pogonovo training ground near Voronezh (military unit No. 11097), which Russia uses for accelerated training before deploying recruits to combat units. Ukrainian intelligence says the base includes a so-called penal battalion, where prisoners, captured deserters, people with substance abuse problems, and foreign mercenaries are assigned.

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After brief training, Bagaka, Gititu, and Mogesa were deployed to the Donbas to take part in assault operations near Lyman. HUR said all three were killed by Ukraine’s Defense Forces during their first combat mission, while Russian commanders made no attempt to support or evacuate them from the battlefield.

“The story of Bagaka, Gititu, and Mogesa is yet another piece of evidence of the aggressor state Russia’s true attitude toward foreigners in its occupation army. For Moscow, they are cheap human resources that can be cynically ‘burned’ in meat-grinder assaults in its criminal war against Ukraine,” HUR stated.

Ukraine’s military intelligence also suggested that intermediaries and recruiters may have profited from death compensation payments following the mercenaries’ deaths.

Kenya has also acknowledged that more than 200 of its citizens may be fighting on Russia’s side in the war against Ukraine, warning that recruitment networks continue to operate and target Kenyans for deployment.

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According to Reuters, Kenya’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “Recruitment exercises in Russia have reportedly expanded to include African nationals, including Kenyans,” adding that “over two hundred Kenyans may have joined the Russian military... recruitment networks are still active in both Kenya and Russia.”

The ministry said Kenya’s embassy in Moscow has recorded injuries among recruits who were allegedly promised payments of up to $18,000 to cover visas, travel, and accommodation, while a September security operation near Nairobi rescued 21 Kenyans who believed they had been hired for non-combat jobs such as assembling drones or other technical work before being prepared for frontline deployment.

Earlier, seventeen citizens of South Africa were lured into traveling to eastern Ukraine under false pretenses and subsequently forced to participate in fighting.

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