Russia’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that its forces captured a Columbian man who purportedly fought as a mercenary on the side of Ukraine.
“Angel Cardenas Montilla came to Ukraine following an advertisement on TikTok inviting mercenaries to fight against Russia,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. It did not say where the man was captured.
In an interrogation video released by the Russian military, Cardenas Montilla, speaking in Spanish, identified himself as a former police officer and a father of four who received minimal combat training in Ukraine. He added that he was “mistreated” and “lied to” by the Ukrainian authorities.
Cardenas Montilla, who had bruises on his face and a swollen eyelid in the video, said he was the only survivor out of the nine Colombians who were with him just before being captured. He urged his fellow Colombians to avoid traveling to Ukraine and joining its military.
He also praised the Russian military and his treatment while in captivity. It was not clear whether Cardenas Montilla’s interrogation was filmed under duress.
The Kremlin frequently accuses Kyiv of recruiting foreign mercenaries to fight against Russian forces. Moscow itself has faced accusations of luring foreigners from predominantly poor nations to fight against Ukraine.
Colombia has condemned Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. But President Gustavo Petro has opposed sending weapons to support Ukraine and has spoken in favor of a negotiated resolution to the conflict.
Anecdotal evidence suggests foreign fighters are being used as cannon fodder, and there have been multiple instances of Russian commanders forcing foreign units to assault Ukrainian positions without the necessary equipment, according to CEPA , The Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), a nonprofit, nonpartisan, public policy institution based in Washington DC.
At the same time, the Kremlin’s efforts to supplement its internal conscription have strained bilateral relations with countries otherwise sympathetic to Moscow.
Offers of wages as high as $2,000 monthly have nonetheless proved an irresistible lure for many people from poorer countries, representing a 24-fold higher salary than the average in Nepal. There are no authoritative figures on the number of recruits, but while Nepali estimates of up to 15,000 appear high, an estimate in the low thousands may be reasonable.
Russia’s hiring practices and its notorious indifference to troop welfare and survival have upset even allies like Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, who asked Moscow last year to stop trying to recruit Serbs into the Russian military and Wagner Group via social media. Serbs serving in Ukraine have complained they are treated as wholly dispensable by Russian commanders.
What is the International Legion?
THE INTERNATIONAL LEGION CONSISTS OF INFANTRY & SPECIAL TASK BATTALIONS
Formed by Presidential decree right after the outbreak of full-scale russian invasion, the Legion has taken part in the majority of the crucial campaigns and battles of the war. Legionnaire teams are also embedded in some of the most prominent brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Although estimates suggest the number of Serbs actively serving in Russia is low, likely in the dozens, Vučić’s at first sight seems a surprising rebuke for Russia from one of the few European nations forgo sanctions (although it may simply signify European Union and US behind-the-scenes pressure.)
Recruitment campaigns often extend beyond Europe and adopt criminal dimensions. Cubans recruited for construction projects, enticed by lucrative sign-on bonuses worth many times their monthly wages, have found themselves digging trenches in Eastern Ukraine, Reuters reported.
In September, Cuba arrested 17 members of a human trafficking ring it said had helped identify, recruit, and transport men to fight in Ukraine. A Time magazine investigation noted passports used by the recruits were recently issued, suggesting an element of government awareness in a country where foreign travel is closely controlled.
Criminal prosecutors in Nepal charged a dozen people with acting as people smugglers for Russia, in a scheme that resembled the network in Cuba. Some 14 Nepalese citizens have died in Russia’s war against Ukraine, with 200 currently serving, according to Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud. The Kremlin has so far ignored Nepalese requests to end recruitment, although it has held talks on the issue.
Current trends suggest foreign recruitment will continue well into the war’s third year. Ukraine’s National Resistance Center says Moscow has expanded its efforts into Africa.
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