Two more Ugandans have been reported killed while fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine, a new report indicates.
A report titled ‘The Business of Despair’ released on February 11, 2026, indicates that seven Ugandan nationals were recruited to fight on the side of Russian forces in Ukraine, and of these, two were killed.
The investigative report was authored by a Swiss non-government organisation called INPACT.
Those killed, according to the report, are Michael Atuhaire, who was born on October 10, 1982, and Ashiraf Damulira, who was born on August 9, 1988.
This brings to three the number of Ugandans reported killed in Ukraine, although the Government of Uganda said it was unable to repatriate the bodies of Ugandans who fell at the battle front in Ukraine.
Speaking to this publication on February 8, foreign affairs state minister Henry Okello Oryem said the Government was unable to repatriate the bodies of such people.
Mfr Oryem’s comments came after this publication contacted him over the death of Edson Kamwesigye, who was killed in early February in Ukrainian strikes while fighting in the Russia-Ukraine war.
Kamwesigye’s family was seeking government support to help them repatriate the body.
Kamwesiga reportedly died in Kupiansk, in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, an area that has seen intense fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. His death was confirmed through identification details and images circulating on social media.
Identification details shared on social media indicate that he was from Kibombo Village, Nyakaina Parish, Buyanja Sub-county, Rukungiri District. He was born on June 19, 1980.
When contacted about the matter, Uganda’s Embassy in Moscow said matters about Ukraine were transferred to Uganda’s Embassy in Berlin. Efforts to get a comment from the embassy in Berlin were futile.
Although the actual number of Ugandans fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine is not known, videos of men singing Luganda and Swahili songs have emerged online. At the height of the illegal recruitment across Africa in August 2025, Uganda’s security intercepted a group of Ugandans who were en route to the Ukraine war through Moscow.
Two suspected Russian recruiters were arrested but later released. After the incident, the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, warned Ugandans against being recruited.
After the arrest, the Chief of Defence Forces, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, warned Ugandans against being recruited as mercenaries in foreign wars.
In a message posted on his X page after the incident, Gen Kainerugaba warned: “Ugandans are forbidden from being recruited to participate in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Anyone who dares will be punished severely.”
Despite the CDF’s warning, it appears some Ugandans used other means to leave the country.
In February this year, videos of men dressed in military wear in a snowy wilderness singing Ugandan war songs in Luganda and Kiswahili surfaced online.
Kenya most affected in East Africa
The country that lost the most citizens at the war front was Kenya with 10, followed by Burundi with six, DR Congo with three, Uganda with two, and Rwanda. Somalia and South Sudan had none.
Continental problem
According to the INPACT investigative report, migration to Europe, investigators obtained several files containing lists of recruits from Africa, including one more comprehensive file with a list of 1,417 nationals from African countries with their full names, date of birth, military registration number, the date they signed their military contract in Russia, and their citizenship.
“A second list detailing those killed in action. It includes the name, date of birth, military service number, contract signing date, recorded date of death, number of months enlisted before death, citizenship, and unit of affiliation within the Russian army,” the report read.
The report also detailed the number of Africans who have been killed at the frontline in Ukraine.
According to the analysis, the countries with a significant number of citizens at the Ukraine-Russia war from are Egypt with 361, Cameroon 335, and Ghana 234.
The same report indicates that at 94, Cameroonian nationals suffered the highest number of deaths, followed by Ghanaians at 55 and Egyptians (52). According to the report, in the 18-25 age group, 60 African recruits were killed in action in Ukraine, with the number of listed recruits killed while fighting in the Russian army totalling 316.
“The duration of service of those killed in action averages only six months, highlighting the fate of many African recruits as cannon fodder for the frontline. Over 50 recruits served only a month before being killed (51 total), while the longest duration listed was 19 months, undertaken by an Egyptian national and another from Benin before their deaths,” the report read.
The report indicated that recruits killed in action came from 37 different military units. Most of these units were involved in costly assaults in Ukraine, such as the 1008th Motorised Rifle Regiment of the 6th Motorised Rifle Division of the 3rd Army Corps, to which five soldiers killed in action were attached.
The 3rd Army Corps regiment was involved in notable battles west of Klishchiivka in February 202429 and south of Chasiv Yar30 in October 2024. The highest number of deaths took place in the 7th Independent Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 3rd Army, accounting for 49 recruits killed in action.
South Africans rescued
French news agency AFP reported on Tuesday that South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa expressed “heartfelt gratitude” to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for the return of men who were lured into fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.
Pretoria in November said it had received “distress calls” from 17 men who were trapped in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.
Pretoria in November said it had received distress calls from 17 men who were trapped in the epicentre of the fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region after being tricked into joining mercenary forces.
Four of the men landed back home last week, and 11 were expected to return soon, according to the presidency, while two remained in Russia.
“President Ramaphosa has expressed his heartfelt gratitude to President Vladimir Putin, who responded positively to his call to support the process of returning the men home,” the presidency said in a statement.
“The investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into mercenary activities is ongoing,” it said.
South African law prohibits its citizens from fighting for a foreign country’s army without government authorisation,
