Yury Kobzar20:46, 02.11.23

The Colombian army is one of the strongest and most combat-ready in South America.

As part of the International Legion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, several hundred veterans of the Colombian army are fighting against the Russian invaders – the second largest army in South America and the only one in the region with real combat experience. The New York Times writes about this .

The publication notes that foreign volunteers who defend Ukraine at the front belong to two separate categories. In the first – representatives of wealthy European countries who joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine because of moral convictions, searches for adventure or hatred of Russia. In the second category are fighters from poorer countries who took part in this war for purely financial reasons.

“I would venture to say that not a single Colombian went there to defend democracy. I don’t believe they even heard of Ukraine before the war. It all comes down to economic motives,” Christian Perez, a former Colombian army sniper who is also considering the possibility of fighting in Ukraine.

NYT notes that the participation of Colombians in the Russian-Ukrainian war is not too strange. After decades of continuous warfare with Marxist rebels and paramilitary drug cartels, Colombia eventually possessed perhaps the most powerful army in South America. Considering that the United States helped train the Colombian army, these are truly qualified soldiers.

Officials of Ukraine and Colombia do not disclose the number of Colombian citizens in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but only emphasize that we are talking about volunteers who are no longer directly related to the Colombian army. After talking with several of these soldiers, NYT journalists came to the conclusion that “hundreds of Colombian volunteers” are constantly fighting on the side of Ukraine.

They all have a similar story of getting to the front. They independently arrived at the Ukrainian border, where they reported that they had military experience and were ready to fight for Ukraine. After this, they were sent to a military base in Ternopil, where they underwent an interview, medical examination and were accepted into service.

The salary of the fighters of the International Legion is the same as that of other soldiers fighting for Ukraine – that is, about $3,000, which is a very high figure for Colombia.

(C)UNIAN 2023