Ukraine Recovers Bodies of Two Kenyans Killed in Russian Ranks

Ukraine recovered the bodies after a deadly assault in the Donetsk region.

Ukrainian Defence Intelligence has confirmed that Russian forces recruited and deployed three Kenyan men who later died fighting in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces found their bodies near the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region.

The men were Ombwori Denis Bagaka (born January 30, 1987) and Wahome Simon Gititu (born May 21, 1991). Ukrainian troops discovered their remains close to the body of another Kenyan fighter, Clinton Nyapara Mogesa, who died earlier in the same area.

Ukrainian officials say recruiters signed up the three men while they worked in Qatar, where private security companies promised them well-paying jobs. Bagaka and Mogesa reported to a Russian recruitment center in Yaroslavl on September 27, 2025. Gititu joined them a month later.

After brief training, Russian commanders sent the men to eastern Ukraine and ordered them to take part in an assault on Lyman. Ukrainian forces engaged them in a heavily defended zone and killed all three during the fighting. Reports indicate that Russian commanders neither supported the operation nor attempted to evacuate the wounded or dead.

Ukrainian officials identified Bagaka and Gititu using passports and personal documents found on their bodies. Ukrainian forces discovered Mogesa’s body days earlier at a Russian-held position. Russian authorities have not officially informed his family of his death.

In a related case, another Kenyan family recently held a memorial service without their son’s body. Charles Wangari, a former footballer from Laikipia West, died on Christmas Day while fighting in Ukraine. On February 5, his relatives gathered in Mukurweini, Nyeri County, to honor him after efforts to recover his remains failed.

Wangari left Kenya in search of a better life in Europe, especially Sweden. The war in Ukraine ultimately claimed his life.