The Russian army says it liquidated a unit of Colombian mercenaries during fighting in the Ukrainian border region of Kharkiv, where Russia is trying to establish a security strip, sources in the Russian security forces told the TASS agency on Saturday (12/13/2025). The Colombians were killed by troops of the Russian military group Sever (North) as part of the Russian offensive in the city of Vovchansk, the source said.
It said that after their identification, the Ukrainians began burying the mercenaries in Kiev as no one in Colombia had claimed them. He cites the lack of immediate family members as a possible explanation. The code names “Taison” and “Adventurer” are mentioned among the buried combatants.
Mercenaries on both sides
Moscow accuses Ukraine of using foreign mercenaries as “cannon fodder” to defend its positions at all costs against the Russian offensive in all sectors of the more than a thousand kilometer long front. In recent years, the Russian judiciary has handed out long sentences to mercenaries both in absentia and captured, including Colombian Pablo Puentes Borges, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison in June for fighting with Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.
Both Ukraine and the West have also accused Russia of using Latin American, African, Indian and Chinese mercenaries, among others, as attack units in Ukraine. North Korea admitted today that it lost nine soldiers during demining operations in Russia’s Kursk region. In this case, however, these were not mercenaries, but regular North Korean troops sent to the country thanks to a 2024 agreement.
lgc (efe, tass, afp)
About The Author
