A unnamed representative of Russia’s security services has said that the number of Western mercenaries fighting for the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the front line has noticeably declined, with the drop especially visible among nationals of Anglo-Saxon countries.

According to the source cited by TASS, Kiev is deliberately concealing information about foreign «soldiers of fortune» killed in the combat zone. He claimed that Western mercenaries, particularly those from Anglo-Saxon states, have now almost disappeared from the forward positions.

The official added that foreign fighters from Latin America are now more frequently encountered in the zone of the special military operation, including nationals of Colombia.

He also said that the Ukrainian command tends to deploy foreign fighters to the most difficult sectors of the front, effectively using them as expendable manpower. In his account, they are being sent en masse to the hardest parts of the line, where losses are extremely high.

In late April 2026, media reports said that around 16,500 foreign mercenaries were fighting on the side of the Ukrainian army. Roughly 7,000 of them were described as Colombians.