A Dagestani soldier was killed in Ukraine.
Makhach Mutalibov from the Khivsky District was killed in combat. Since the beginning of the Russian operation in Ukraine, authorities have publicly named at least 1,833 Dagestani combatants killed there.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," by February 25, authorities had officially acknowledged at least 1,832 fighters from Dagestan killed in Ukraine.
Makhach Mutalibov, killed in Ukraine, was buried in the village of Syugyut in the Khivsky District of Dagestan on February 26, the municipal administration reported on its Telegram channel.
Mutalibov, a native of the village of Ashaga-Yarak, served as a rifleman in a rifle battalion with the rank of private. He was killed "during offensive operations against enemy positions in the village of Seversk-Maly," officials said in a statement.
Thus, at least 1,833 servicemen from Dagestan have been officially recognized as killed on the Ukrainian front. The Caucasian Knot maintains a list of names of natives of the North Caucasus and Southern Federal Districts killed in the military operation. The list is based on data officially released by government officials and security agencies, according to the Caucasian Knot report "North Caucasus Military District Statistics: Casualties Rises in Southern Russia."
At the end of January, the Khivsky District Administration reported that another native of the village of Ashaga-Yarak, Magomed-Amin Aliyarov, had been killed in Ukraine. Shortly before this, officials reported the transfer of a posthumous award to the relatives of Private Robert Gyulechov from the village of Khiv.
Dagestan ranks first among the regions of the North Caucasus Federal District in the number of those killed, whose names have been officially released by the authorities. Back in February 2022, the head of Dagestan Sergey Melikov was the first government official to announce that a Russian soldier had been killed in Ukraine, acknowledging the death of officer Nurmagomed Gadzimagomedov.
The "Caucasian Knot" reported that servicemen from Dagestan periodically record video messages to the republic's authorities asking them to resolve various social and domestic issues. In particular, at the end of September 2025, members of the SVO complained to Melikov about the lack of sewage in Khasavyurt, and in December about the lack of gas in a house in Izberbash. In January, former SVO members stated in an appeal to the head of Dagestan that residents of the village of Ashaga-Yarak in the Khivsky District had nowhere to graze their livestock as a result of the sale of land for transhumance. State awards, memorial plaques, and appearances on Channel One do not guarantee state support for the families of those killed, according to the Caucasian Knot article "Three Comrades Served: How the Authorities Are Depriving the Families of Killed Volunteers of Benefits," which describes the stories of the slain soldiers. For example, the mother of the slain Dmitry Ukhanov said she searched for her son's body for four months, while administration and military registration and enlistment office staff inquired from her about the progress of the search without offering any assistance.