South American nation denies it provides mercenaries for Ukraine — RT World News
Bogota claimed that any Colombians fighting for Kiev do so based on their “personal decisions.”
The Colombian government doesn't do that “Encouraging or facilitating” The State Department said there was an influx of mercenaries from the country to fight for Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
The Ministry confirmed, in a statement today, Saturday, that there is no “Bilateral agreements” To send mercenaries to Kyiv. Bogota only provides “Consular assistance” For citizens and their families if they are “affected” Because of the hostilities, he said. “The Government of Colombia neither encourages nor facilitates this type of activity.”
The statement came shortly after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov raised the issue of Colombian mercenaries fighting for Ukraine, warning that the battle-hardened fighters would eventually become a problem for their home countries.
Many foreign mercenaries have already become fighting for Kiev “Disappointed” Some of them have returned to their countries of origin, Lavrov said at a conference held in Moscow on Friday on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the 2014 Maidan coup in Kiev.
“If the people who stayed in this war that the West is waging against us are going through a military phase in their lives, they are likely to return to it, especially since in Colombia there is always someone to argue with and there has always been someone to compete with.” The foreign minister said, in an apparent reference to the years-long drug wars and low-intensity insurgencies that have plagued the Latin American country.
Earlier this month, the Associated Press published a report on Colombian military veterans fighting for Kiev against Russia. According to the report, the Ukrainian authorities are actively recruiting mercenaries from the country, as well as from other countries in Latin America, luring them with salaries of up to $3,300 per month, as well as the promise of compensation for those injured or killed during the fighting. .
The agency witnessed the recovery of about 50 Colombians in a military hospital in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. One mercenary claimed that his unit alone included about 100 of his compatriots. The Associated Press also spoke with people in Colombia who are participating in mercenary training before they travel to Ukraine.
“They are like immigrants from Latin America who go to the United States in search of a better future. These are not volunteers who want to defend another country's flag. They are simply motivated by economic need.” Hector Bernal, a retired doctor who runs training courses outside Bogotá, told the AP.
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