2025-11-03 18:44
publication
2025-11-03 18:44
From February 2022, approximately 2 thousand mercenaries from Colombia have signed contracts with the Ukrainian army, Die Welt reports on Monday. In most cases, they serve as infantry, which is to be a significant reinforcement for the army struggling with staff shortages.
According to data provided by a German newspaper, over 8,000 people have been recruited to fight on Ukraine's side in the war with Russia since 2022. volunteers from outside the country, and mercenaries from South America will constitute up to 40 percent. of them. In the case of Colombians, Die Welt gives the total number of 2,000.
There are supposed to be so many soldiers from South America that… some companies consist only of Latinos, and their language of communication is Spanish, the daily reports. In addition to Colombians, those fighting on the side of Ukraine include: Chileans or Brazilians.
In the Ukrainian army, which suffers from staff shortages, Latinos, mostly serving in the infantry, are expected to play an important role. On some sections of the front, the Ukrainians are short of soldiers, one of the commanders told Die Welt that there are places where there are seven times more Russians than them.
Die Welt, whose reporter visited a secret training center for Colombians in northern Ukraine, writes that it often happens that soldiers from outside Ukraine come to Europe without military experience. At the beginning, in 2022, recruitment requirements in Ukraine were strict, only those who had previously been involved in armed conflicts could stay. Currently, relaxed criteria apply.
Conversations conducted by Die Welt journalists with Colombians show that their main motivation is earnings. They can count on approximately PLN 3,000. euro per month. Unlike Ukrainians, they can also terminate the contract at any time. Some of them come for a few months, others stay in the war for years.
From Berlin Mateusz Obremski (PAP)
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