Over 8,000 Foreigners Joined Ukraine’s Ground Forces

Military volunteers from 72 countries are now serving in Ukraine’s Armed Forces, with South Americans making up roughly 40% of all foreign personnel.

That’s according to Kostiantyn Milevskyi, acting head of the Armed Forces’ coordination unit for foreign enlistment, who spoke to Hromadske TV.

At the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine was receiving 100-150 foreign recruits per month. That number has since grown to about 600 per month, Milevskyi said.

“We can say that the share of foreigners in the Armed Forces has increased significantly,” he said. “This is largely due to the launch of the Foreign Recruitment Center operating at full capacity.”

He noted that the Ukrainian government covered logistics, including travel costs for volunteers heading to Ukraine.

As of now, more than 8,000 foreigners have joined units within the Ground Forces alone, according to Milevskyi. But the total number of foreign volunteers across all branches of the Armed Forces may be at least twice as high, he said.

Ukraine does not disclose detailed nationality breakdowns for security reasons, but the military confirms that Colombians represent one of the largest contingents. Many serve in dedicated combat units.

Colombians have different motivations. According to Milevskyi, for many of them, financial compensation is a key factor.

“They’ve repeatedly said that salaries in the Ukrainian Armed Forces were far higher than in their own countries’ militaries,” he said. “But most of them also have combat experience and want to apply and build on it here—while being paid fairly.”

Read more: Foreign Volunteer Flow to Ukrainian Defense Forces Grows Following Trump’s Statements

In April, the National Guard’s 13th Khartiia Brigade formed a foreign volunteer unit called Guajiro, made up largely of Colombians. It has now been fighting for nearly a year and has already received its battle flag.