Fri Nov 07 04:56:02 UTC 2025: Here’s a news article summarizing the information provided:
Moscow Court Sentences Two Colombians to 13 Years for Fighting with Ukrainian Forces
DONETSK, UKRAINE – A court in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine has sentenced two Colombian nationals, Alexander Ante, 48, and Jose Aron Medina Aranda, 37, to 13 years in prison each for participating in hostilities on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The ruling, announced on Thursday by Moscow-backed authorities, adds to a growing list of lengthy sentences given to foreign fighters accused of being “mercenaries.”
According to reports, Ante and Medina fought for Ukraine in 2023 and 2024. They disappeared in July while transiting through Venezuela on their way back to Colombia after their service. Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported they were detained in Caracas still wearing Ukrainian military uniforms. Russian authorities later confirmed they had taken custody of the men, both from Popayan, Colombia.
The sentencing has sparked concern and despair, with Medina’s wife, Cielo Paz, expressing her fears of never seeing him again.
This case is not isolated. Another Colombian national, Pablo Puentes Borges, was sentenced to 28 years in June on terrorism and mercenary charges. In April, Miguel Angel Cardenas Montilla also received a nine-year sentence for fighting with Ukrainian forces.
While Russia labels these foreign fighters as “mercenaries,” the Kyiv Post points out that most foreign fighters in the Ukrainian army are formally enlisted, receiving the same pay and status as Ukrainian soldiers. This would mean they don’t legally fall under mercenary definition in international law. However, Moscow continues to prosecute captured foreign fighters under the “mercenary” charge, which carries a sentence of up to 15 years, instead of recognizing them as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. The Colombian government estimates dozens of its citizens have died fighting in Ukraine since the war began in 2022.
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