Over 11K Foreign Fighters Killed in Ukraine – Rosstat Leaks
Of the 11,335 foreign fatalities, just over 6,000 of those killed were born outside Russia but had obtained Russian citizenship prior to their deaths.
More than 11,000 foreign nationals fighting alongside Russia in the ongoing Ukraine conflict have lost their lives over the past four and a half years, according to leaked Rosstat records obtained by Bloomberg. The figures, which span from February 24, 2022, to late August 2026, reveal that over 450,000 Russians have perished in the war.
Of the 11,335 foreign deaths, nearly 6,000 occurred among individuals who were born outside Russia but had become Russian citizens prior to their deaths. Around 3,700 of the fatalities were Ukrainian citizens or nationals of former Soviet states, primarily residing in the regions under Russian control in eastern and southern Ukraine.
The remaining fatalities primarily came from Central Asian countries, with significant numbers also reported from Nepal, Sri Lanka, China, Colombia, Kenya, and Nigeria. Overall, the yearly death toll for foreign fighters has surged more than eightfold since 2022, reaching over 5,500 in 2025. Notably, nearly 99% of these military deaths were male, with most of the women killed being residents of Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.
While the actual number of foreign casualties is likely higher, Rosstat's data is incomplete for 2026, and it does not account for missing soldiers or North Korean troops who assisted Russia.
Written by urgent.news from The Moscow Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
