While Lavrov Visits Niger, "I Want to Live Publishes Names of 101 Citizens from Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali Fighting for Russia

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has arrived in Niger as part of a continued tour of African countries - meeting with Niger's leadership and, in the same session, the foreign ministers of Burkina Faso and Mali. Whether his African counterparts raised the question of Russia recruiting their citizens into the war in Ukraine is not known.

What is known is that citizens of all three countries have signed contracts with Russia's armed forces. Some of their names are known. Ukraine's I Want to Live project is publishing them today.

As Lavrov sat down with officials in Niamey, the project - which operates under Ukraine's Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War - published the names of 101 citizens of Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali who signed contracts with Russia's armed forces and participated in combat operations against Ukraine. At least 16 of them are confirmed killed.

The list is below:

Note: The Names were transliterated from Russian records into English - minor spelling variations may apply.

What the Data Shows

I Want to Live is explicit that these 101 are confirmed identifications, not a complete count. The actual number of recruits from Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali in Russia's armed forces is higher. The number of dead is also higher than the 16 the project can confirm with certainty.

The majority of names on the list are Malian. 73 of the 101 recruits are from there. Niger accounts for 27. Burkina Faso has just one person on the list. All 15 confirmed killed are Malian. The contract dates run from October 2023 to December 2025 - nearly two years of uninterrupted recruitment. The youngest person on the list is Diakité Alou, born May 2006 and listed as Malian - 20 years old. The oldest is a 58-year-old man from Niger, born June 1968.

The data also shows the same batch recruitment pattern documented in other African countries. The largest single cluster is nine men who all signed on 19 November 2025 - all listed as Nigerien. Six signed on 25 June 2025, all Malian. Three each signed on six other dates. These are not individuals independently deciding to join Russia's army; they are groups being moved through a pipeline together.

The June 25 batch is particularly stark. Of the six Malians who signed on that date, four are confirmed killed - all dead within weeks to months of signing. Coulibaly Gaoussou died on 19 August. Magassouba Souleymane on 3 August. Tono Mamadou on 4 August. Fomba Salia on 14 October. The other two are listed with no confirmed status.

After Ethiopia, Families Started Writing

The publication of this list follows the release of the names of 34 Ethiopian citizens recruited into Russia's army - a list also timed to one of Lavrov's African visits. Within a day of that publication, relatives of missing Ethiopians began contacting I Want to Live directly. Families who had lost contact with men who had traveled to Russia - and received no answer from Russian authorities - recognized the pattern and reached out for help. 

If your relative traveled to Russia for work and has stopped making contact, their name may already be in the project's database, or may appear in a future list.

The Broader Picture

This list is part of a larger dataset. According to I Want to Live, the project has confirmed personal data on 2,984 Africans from 40 countries who signed contracts with Russia's armed forces. Of those, nearly one in six is confirmed killed. Despite growing pressure from governments and families, Russia has not stopped. Foreigners cost little to recruit, are easy to deceive, and - as far as Russia is concerned - carry no accountability when they die.

For Families in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali

If you or someone dear to you traveled to Russia - their name may be on this list or on a future one. Do not wait until it is too late and take the safe route out that Ukraine offers. Find out more here.

Source: I Want to Live on Telegram