Foreign mercenary from Nigeria serving in Russian army has been neutralised in Kharkiv region, - DIU. PHOTO
Defence forces have neutralised a mercenary from Nigeria who was fighting alongside the Russian army in the Kharkiv region.
According to Censor.NET, this was reported by the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence.
"During a battle with the Ukrainian Defence Forces in the Kharkiv region, near the village of Hrafske, Ayebusiwa Olabode Victor, born on 28 April 1992, was killed. The mercenary lived in the town of Ilutitun, Ondo State," the statement reads.
Intelligence sources note that the story of the eliminated mercenary is typical of all those recruited: deception, promises of ‘easy money’, a week’s training, deployment to the front line and a swift death.
"It is telling that Ayebusiva Olabode Victor signed a contract at the end of February 2026 — just a week after the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially expressed serious concern on 15 February regarding cases of illegal recruitment of Nigerian citizens to participate in foreign armed conflicts," the DIU added.
This statement came after the DIU informed the world on 12 February of the fate of two Nigerian citizens — Hamzat Kazin Kalavole and Mbahu Stephen Udoku.
The Russian ambassador to Nigeria, Andrei Podolychev, cynically denied the Kremlin’s involvement in the illegal recruitment.
"However, official Moscow propaganda tells a different story. Mikhail Zvinchuk, a propagandist close to the Russian Ministry of Defence, publicly described the scheme for recruiting people for the war against Ukraine on the channel of one of the Kremlin’s main mouthpieces, Vladimir Solovyov," the DIU noted.
Russia recruits Africans through fake job vacancies
The Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine stated that Russian intermediaries are using social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp to recruit citizens of African countries under the guise of job offers.
According to intelligence reports, potential victims are promised employment, have their visas processed, and are bought tickets to Russia. Upon arrival in Moscow, their passports are taken away, allegedly to process documents, after which the people find themselves without means of subsistence and unable to return home.
"People are faced with a choice: deportation with debts, imprisonment – or a contract with the occupying army, the terms of which they often do not even understand due to the language barrier," the DIU noted.
The scale of recruitment
Intelligence reports indicate that at least 215 Nigerian citizens have already signed contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defence, and some of them have been killed or are considered missing.
The DIU also emphasised that the total number of foreigners recruited into the Russian army exceeds tens of thousands.
The intelligence service urged citizens of African countries to avoid Russian recruitment schemes and to report such cases via the special channels of the "I Want to Live" project.
