66 Uzbeks who died fighting for Russia identified

Of the 118,000 Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, more than 500 were foreign, with Uzbeks and Tajiks taking the lead.

The BBC, Mediazona and a team of volunteers, who compiled a list of soldiers killed during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, have identified 66 Uzbeks and 72 Tajiks. They joined the Russian army with only foreign passports. The deaths of the Central Asians have been confirmed by various sources - official reports, social media posts by relatives and photos of cemeteries.

Most of those identified - 46 Uzbek and 43 Tajik citizens - were serving sentences in Russian prisons and had signed contracts with the Wagner Group and been sent to fight.