At least 143 citizens of Kyrgyzstan have died in Ukraine after being recruited into the Russian army. This information was published by the Ukrainian project «I Want to Live.»
The list includes only those whose names were confirmed through sources in the Russian military. The authors emphasize that this is not a complete list; the actual death toll could be significantly higher. This article is a continuation of a series of investigations into the recruitment of migrants from Central Asian countries.
It was previously reported that 687 Kyrgyzstanis signed contracts with the Russian army: 135 in 2023, 326 in 2024, and at least 400 in the first eight months of 2025. According to the project, Russia is actively increasing the rate of migrant recruitment in Kyrgyzstan.
The authors also note that using foreign citizens as infantry remains economically advantageous for Russia: training such soldiers takes no more than two weeks, and most are killed in their first battles while serving as assault troops.
Previously, the «I Want to Live» project also published data on 270 citizens of Kazakhstan, 446 citizens of Tajikistan, and 481 citizens of Uzbekistan who died in the war in Ukraine.
