A new report has revealed that at least 455 South Asians have been killed while fighting for Russia in the Ukraine war, with casualty figures in several cases exceeding those officially acknowledged by governments in the region.
The data—compiled by Himal Southasian and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project using inputs from Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War and sources within the Russian military—covers the period from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 to September 2025. It also identifies 1,923 recruits from South Asian countries, including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sri Lanka accounts for the highest number of deaths, with at least 275 citizens killed out of 751 recruited, according to the report published on March 5. Officials indicated that the actual figures could be significantly higher. This contrasts with statements made by Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Vijitha Herath, who told parliament that 59 Sri Lankans had died out of 554 recruits as of January 2025. The Sri Lankan foreign ministry did not respond to queries on the updated figures.
For India, the government reported 26 deaths and 202 recruits as of December 2025. Earlier, in May 2024, the CBI arrested four traffickers—including a Russian translator—accused of using YouTube to lure Indian youth with promises of employment before sending them to the frontlines.
Among other countries, five Afghans have been reported killed out of 18 recruits, while three Pakistani nationals have died out of 22 recruits. Pakistan’s government, however, had denied in August 2025 that any of its citizens were involved in the conflict, calling such claims “baseless and unfounded.” Six Myanmar nationals were also identified as recruits, though no deaths were recorded.
The report notes that many governments in the region have not provided updated official figures despite queries.
According to the Coordination Headquarters, 42% of 3,390 foreign fighters killed—including those from outside South Asia—died within the first four months of signing their contracts. Multiple accounts cited in the report suggest that many South Asian recruits were deployed to combat zones with little or inadequate training.
Language barriers and lack of access to modern combat equipment were also highlighted as key factors contributing to the high casualty rates among these fighters.
