"Dubai to Grave" flight: mercenary from Sierra Leone arrived to fight for Russia and was killed in Donetsk region. PHOTO
Ukrainian military intelligence has identified a citizen of Sierra Leone who joined the Russian army and fought against Ukraine. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, the mercenary was killed in the Donetsk region approximately three months after leaving Africa.
As reported by Censor.NET, this was announced by the Defence Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
The individual in question is 41-year-old Sierra Leonean citizen Kamara Alhaji, who was born in the city of Bo but was registered in the country’s capital, Freetown.
According to the Defence Intelligence, on 15 March 2026, the man flew from Conakry Airport – the capital of neighbouring Guinea – to Dubai. The following day, he transferred to a flight to Moscow.
In Russia, Alhaji signed a contract with the Russian army. After a short period of training, he was sent to fight against Ukraine in the Donetsk region in early April.
In early June 2026, the mercenary was killed near the village of Shakove.
According to the Ukrainian project "I Want to Live", at least 13 citizens of Sierra Leone are currently known to have been recruited into the Russian army. Two of them are being held as prisoners of war by Ukraine.
The Defence Intelligence (DIU) has reminded foreign nationals fighting as part of Russian forces against Ukraine of the possibility of voluntarily surrendering through the "I Want to Live" project.
