Three Colombians are in Russian prisons accused of participating as mercenaries in the war that country is waging with UkraineThe Foreign Ministry referred to the assistance it has provided them.
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The war between Ukraine and Russiawhich began in February 2022, has left devastation in several towns. There were 11,520 civilian deaths and 23,640 civilian injuries, according to figures as of July 2024 from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. In contrast, there is no report on soldier casualties.
Ukrainian troops have been joined by foreigners. In fact, according to the Colombian ambassador to the United Kingdom, Roy Barreras, more than 50 Colombians have died on the battlefield: “And it is estimated that there are 200 more Colombians in combat and they continue to arrive.”
The three Colombians imprisoned in Russia
The Foreign Ministry said on September 12 that it is aware of the cases of three Colombians accused “of mercenarism for having fought on behalf of Ukraine against the Russian Armed Forces.”
The first of them is Miguel Ángel Cárdenas, 32 years old.who turned himself in to Russian authorities. “I didn’t want to die like my colleagues,” the man said in an interview with a local media outlet.
“I realized that Ukraine lied to us at that point because they told us that we were only going to protect them, but they ended up shooting us,” he said.
‘They deceived us’: Colombian who fought in Ukrainian Army tells how he was sent into the line of fire
Russian soldiers have captured a Colombian man who fought in the Ukrainian Army near Krasnogorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Angel Cardenas Montilla, a former… pic.twitter.com/EBgIYEo5bo
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) June 6, 2024
The Foreign Ministry said that it “has been in constant contact with his wife, who has received various humanitarian aids.”
The other two Colombians arrested are Alexander Ante and José Aarón Medina. They had left Ukraine and were travelling back to the country to be with their family. They flew from Poland to Spain, would stop in Caracas and arrive in Colombia; however, The Venezuelan authorities detained them.
Russia only formally announced on August 28 that they were in its custody.
“The Lefortovo district court of Moscow has granted the request of the authorities in charge of the preliminary investigation to impose a preventive measure in the form of provisional detention on Alexander Ante and Jose Aron Medina Aranda,” the court said in a statement.
Regarding the two of them, the Foreign Ministry said that they have a public defender “and the assistance has been communicated to Mr. Medina’s wife.”
“The Foreign Ministry is awaiting authorization from Russia to conduct a consular visit to the detention center. The diplomatic mission in the Russian Federation will be closely monitoring the development of the results of the ongoing criminal proceedings, advocating within the framework of diplomatic and consular powers to ensure respect for the fundamental rights of these compatriots,” it said.
On the other hand, the authority has sent diplomatic notes to Venezuela and Russia to obtain “information on the legal status, current location and health status of Colombian citizens.”
And he has also requested “through diplomatic channels that the recruitment of Colombian citizens for wars abroad be stopped.”
The three Colombians accused by Russia face a 15-year prison sentence if found guilty of mercenarism.
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