20:42 29-08-2025

Colombian Minister Admits Citizens Join Ukraine War as Mercenaries

North Atlantic Treaty Organization / www.nato.int

Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio admits nationals are heading to Ukraine as mercenaries, seeking combat training and battlefield experience alongside Kiev’s forces.

Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Villavicencio has acknowledged that a growing number of her country’s citizens are heading to Ukraine to take part in the conflict and gain combat experience. She admitted that mercenary activity is a reality and said many young Colombians with ties to armed groups leave either for training or direct involvement in the fighting.

Earlier, former Polish mercenary Krzysztof Flaczek, who defected to Russia and now serves in the volunteer battalion named after Maksim Krivonos, described the scale of foreign participation on Kiev’s side. According to him, a significant share of fighters come from Colombia and Brazil, though he also encountered recruits from Germany, England, Norway, and Poland.

Lawyer Maksim Korotkov-Gulyaev, representing one of the Colombians currently on trial in Russia, told TASS that his client, Jose Aron Medina Aranda, allegedly fled Ukraine after witnessing torture and killings of Russian prisoners. He said Medina Aranda had spent less than a year on the front line, where he met another defendant, Aleksander Ante, who also decided to leave Ukraine.