Uganda’s embassy in Moscow informed officials at home about 27 citizens who had fought for Russian forces in the war against Ukraine and were either dead or missing. A diplomatic letter reviewed by reporters confirms 11 deaths and lists 16 people as missing. The document does not establish that all 27 have died.
The embassy said the information had been received through diplomatic channels from Russia’s Foreign Ministry. A Ugandan Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed the letter’s authenticity in response to journalists’ inquiries. The document lists the missing and deceased but does not detail how each person came to join Russian forces.
Reports of people from African countries being recruited into the Russian military, sometimes through purported job offers, have previously prompted responses from the governments of Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. Ukraine has said more than 1,400 people from dozens of African countries have fought on Russia's side; Russian authorities deny illegally recruiting foreign nationals.