Romanian Volunteer Fighting with 3rd Assault Brigade Goes Missing in Ukraine

A volunteer from Romania who fought as part of the 3rd Assault Brigade has gone missing in Ukraine. In total, four Romanian volunteers are currently known to have died.

The Romanian media Veridica reported on this.

Adrian Viorel Iurka, a 31-year-old Romanian soldier from Arad with the call sign “Blackfish,” has been officially considered missing since October 9 and is presumed dead in eastern Ukraine.

During an interview with Veridica in January 2025, Adrian explained that one of the reasons for his decision to fight in Ukraine was the atrocities committed by the Russians in Ukraine. Before this, he was involved in humanitarian work but felt that he needed to do more for the Ukrainian cause.

“On a personal level, this experience changes you, and I thought it would make me a better person,” Adrian said in January.

According to the soldier’s sister, Adrian was outraged by the horrific crimes committed by the Russians from the very first weeks of the war. He initially joined the International Legion and later transferred to the 3rd Assault Brigade.

“He fought for almost a year and a half and took part in intense battles alongside elite comrades-in-arms, whom he told me about,” she shared with Veridica.

By August 2025, more than 8,000 foreigners had joined the units of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. Kostyantyn Milevskyi, the acting head of the coordination department for foreign military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reported this at the time.

However, Milevskyi suggests that the total number of foreigners across all branches of the Ukrainian Armed Forces may be at least twice as high.

According to him, at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, an average of 100 to 150 foreigners joined the Ukrainian army each month. Currently, this number has increased to approximately 600 people per month.

More detailed information about the countries of origin of volunteers in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is not disclosed for security reasons.

However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirm that there is a particularly large number of Colombian citizens among the foreigners. Separate combat units are being formed from them.