Azerbaijan’s Security Service (DTX) has arrested four more Azerbaijani citizens who are accused of fighting in Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The DTX did not specify which side the individuals were fighting for. Under Azerbaijani law, it is illegal to take up arms for a foreign nation.
The individuals — identified as Real Nabiev, 35; Faris Huseynov, 33; Ali Mammadov, 32; and Murov Mirhashimli, 32 — were arrested in January.
The state-run media outlet Azertac noted that a ‘significant number of nationals’ of Azerbaijan ‘have been killed, gone missing or were injured, and some are being held in captivity having participated in the ongoing military operations between Russia and Ukraine’, but did not provide any specific figures.
However, other media outlets have said that at least 135 Azerbaijanis, most of whom were citizens of Ukraine, have been killed in the full-scale war. Presumably, that figure refers to either civilians or those fighting on Ukraine’s side.
At the end of January 2026, an ethnic Azerbaijani who worked as a farmer in Ukraine’s Kherson region was killed in a Russian attack. Across 2025, the Azerbaijani media outlet Report wrote that 12 ethnic Azerbaijanis, all of whom were Ukrainian citizens, were killed.
Both Russia and Ukraine have kept their casualty figures under wraps, and the number of Azerbaijanis who have been killed fighting for Russia is currently unknown.
Russia’s army continues to openly advertise the possibility for Azerbaijani citizens to sign contracts and join up, offering a ₽2 million ($26,000) signing bonus , a monthly salary starting at ₽210,000 ($2,730) and a fast-tracked path to Russian citizenship, including for family members.
Xandie (Alexandra) Kuenning
