War in Ukraine: for the first time, Cameroon recognizes the death of sixteen soldiers enlisted by the Russian army

The Cameroonian government officially acknowledged on Monday, April 6, for the first time since the invasion initiated by Vladimir Putin in 2022, the involvement of its citizens in the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. This announcement followed a diplomatic note from the Russian embassy received on March 5 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The note specified that these sixteen citizens died in a “special military operation zone”, the terminology used by Moscow to describe the invasion of Ukraine by its army. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited the families of the deceased to contact officials in Yaoundé, following the broadcast of their names on national radio.

Moscow has been recruiting fighters from numerous nations since 2022, including Nepal, India, and Cuba. An investigation by Important Stories media in April 2025 identified over 1,500 foreign fighters from 48 countries.

In February of last year, a report from the country’s intelligence services indicated that over 1,000 Kenyans traveled to Russia to end up fighting in Ukraine, many of them unaware of the fate that awaited them. Although two Cameroonian mercenaries were captured by the Ukrainian army in 2025, the exact circumstances of the engagement of the sixteen slain soldiers remain unclear. Authorities are unsure whether they volunteered or were forced to serve.

Cameroon denies officially deploying troops abroad outside of international mandates. In March 2025, the Minister of Defense had already expressed concern about soldiers leaving the country to join the Ukrainian front, ordering officers to closely monitor their units. This situation arises despite a security agreement signed between Yaoundé and Moscow in 2022.

According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Andrii Sybiha, at least 1,780 African citizens are fighting for Russia. While North Korea remains the main contributor with 12,000 soldiers, the Cameroonian case illustrates the extent of foreign recruitment in this conflict. The identification of the victims was made possible because the names were “transmitted to the Cameroonian authorities by the Russian authorities,” the official statement said.