The victims, Ombwori Denis Bagaka, born January 30, 1987 and Wahome Simon Gititu, born May 21, 1991, were discovered near the remains of another slain Kenyan mercenary, Clinton Nyapara Mogesa.
The bodies of two Kenyan citizens killed while fighting for Russia in Ukraine have been recovered near the city of Lyman in Donetsk, Ukrainian Defence Intelligence has reported.
The victims, Ombwori Denis Bagaka, born January 30, 1987 and Wahome Simon Gititu, born May 21, 1991, were discovered near the remains of another slain Kenyan mercenary, Clinton Nyapara Mogesa.
According to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, all three Kenyans, Bagaka, Gititu, and Mogesa, “were lured into Russia's war against Ukraine in Qatar, where they worked for security companies with high, stable incomes.”
The report details that “on September 27, 2025, Bagaka and Mogesa arrived at a recruitment center in Yaroslavl. Gititu joined them a month later, on October 28.”
A Kyrgyz citizen, Salizhan Uulu Almamet, acted as “the mercenaries' representative. In particular, Almamet signed contracts with the Russian occupation army on behalf of Bagaka, Gititi, and Mogesa in Yaroslavl, and also gained control over their bank accounts.”
From Yaroslavl, the recruits were sent “to the Pogonovo training ground near the city of Voronezh, military unit No. 11097. The enemy uses this ground for accelerated military training, sending recruits directly to units of the occupation army engaged in combat operations.”
The Defence Intelligence explained that a “penal battalion” had been formed within the military unit, “where prisoners, captured deserters, chronic alcoholics and drug addicts, as well as foreign mercenaries, are sent. Bagaka, Gitita, and Mogesa ended up in the 'penal battalion,' whose personnel, according to the testimony of russian prisoners of war, are used by the aggressor for 'one-way' combat missions.”
After a short training period, the three were deployed to Donbas, where “while moving through the so-called 'kill zone,' the Ukrainian Defense Forces eliminated all three mercenaries — the first battle became the last for the Kenyans. It is noteworthy that the Russian leaders did not take any measures to support or evacuate the mercenaries from the battlefield.”
The Defence Intelligence said the deaths illustrate “yet another example of how Russia, the aggressor state, really treats foreigners in its occupation army”.
“For Moscow, they're just cheap human resources that can be burned with impunity during the bloody assaults of its criminal war against Ukraine,” it added.
“The quick deaths of mercenaries are also an opportunity for 'businessmen' in uniforms and recruiters to split up the 'coffin' payments, as seems to have happened in this story.”
The report concluded with a warning to foreign citizens: “A trip to russia is a real chance to end up in a suicide squad and, ultimately, to rot in Ukrainian soil.”
Ukrainian authorities said they continue to “document cases of foreign citizens being recruited into the Russian occupation army.”