MOSCOW, July 30. /TASS/. The number of Colombian mercenaries in the ranks of the Ukrainian armed forces in Ukraine has reached 7,000, Russian defense sources told TASS.

"The total number of foreign mercenaries in the Ukrainian armed forces currently stands at about 16,500, but their composition has changed dramatically. Western mercenaries - British, German, Canadian, and American - fled en masse at the end of last year. They have been replaced by people from Latin America. Colombians now make up the bulk. According to our estimates, there are more than 7,000 of them, which is almost half of the entire foreign contingent," the sources said. The reason is the cost of European and American services: Latin Americans are paid several times less, and are much easier to use as expendable material, they noted.

Meanwhile, captured Colombians almost unanimously claim that the conditions promised during recruitment are radically different from reality. The scheme is classic: first, they are recruited through social media, most often via TikTok, offered construction jobs in the UAE with a salary of around $1,000 per month. Then, recruiters from the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) contact them and offer a more "enticing" option, supposedly without risk to life and with a salary starting at $5,000," the sources added.

However, upon arrival, they find out that actual payments do not exceed $500, and meet with dismissive attitude of the Ukrainians, the sources noted.

Earlier, Russian defense agencies told TASS that service member of the Russian Battlegroup North’s 7th Motorized Rifle Regiment, the 11th Army Corps, captured a Colombian, William-Andres Gallego Orozco, near the Staritsa settlement in the Kharkov Region. He was able to contact his relatives in Colombia and asked his parents to report a recruiter for the Ukrainian armed forces from Bogota to the police. Relatives of Colombians who were deceived into joining the Ukrainian armed forces also previously staged protest rallies in Bogota, demanding compensation from the Ukrainian authorities. They are also trying to draw the attention of Colombian authorities to the problem of recruitment in the country.