AFP verifying report on Filipino allegedly killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Friday that it has yet to confirm reports on the death of a Filipino who allegedly fought for Russia in Ukraine.

“The AFP has taken note of the report. At this time, we have yet to establish confirmation or validation of the information,” AFP spokesperson Colonel Francel Margareth Padilla said in a message to reporters.

“Until such verification is completed, it would be premature for the AFP to make definitive statements regarding the circumstances surrounding the reported incident,” she added.

Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense said Thursday that the Filipino who was reportedly killed was a 37-year-old man from Manila.

It said the man obtained a Russian visa on January 22, 2026, and arrived in the Moscow region on April 18.

“The mercenary was placed in the center of the 'Avant-Garde'—an institution for military-patriotic education of youth,” it said on Facebook.

“On May 3, the Filipino signed a one-year contract with the occupying army, after which he was sent for training. Like other foreign mercenaries, he did not stay there for long—he stayed for about a week,” it added.

The Ukrainian intelligence agency said the man was deployed to the front lines by mid-May and was killed later that month in the village of Katerynivka in the Donetsk region. —VBL, GMA News