RT has conducted an interview with two Colombian nationals arrested in Russia on charges of mercenary activity, having fought for Kiev in its ongoing conflict with Moscow. Alexander Ante, 47, and Jose Aron Medina Aranda, 36, are currently in pre-trial detention pending a court hearing on their cases.
In the exclusive interview the men, explained their reasons for joining the Ukrainian military and talked about their experience of serving with Kiev’s troops.
According to Ante and Aranda, most foreigners are lured into the Ukrainian military ranks with promises of large payments supposedly amounting to some $3,000 per month, or “fall victim” to Western propaganda.
“Many [people] fall prey to the propaganda,” Aranda told RT, adding that Western media outlets portray the Russians as “murderers,” and people “go to war to protect Ukrainians.”
“Yet, this is all a lie,” the Colombian said. The reality on the ground is vastly different to those reports and, once people come to Ukraine, they understand that “everything that is said is not true,” he added.
Ante also admitted that he now regrets the choice he made when deciding to join Kiev’s troops. “I would have never gone back to that country,” he told RT, referring to Ukraine.
Both men said they faced racism and discrimination while serving with the Ukrainian military. “They are racists,” Ante said. “They do not treat us as their own,” he told RT, adding that the Ukrainians would “not come to our aid if asked for it.”
“They do not pay any attention to you,” he said. “One can feel their indifference.”
Both men were serving with the so-called Carpathian Sich battalion, according to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Otherwise known as the 49th Infantry Battalion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the unit is the reincarnation of the eponymous force of Ukrainian nationalists created in 2014 by Oleg Kutsyn of the right-wing Svoboda Party. The battalion gained notoriety during the Ukrainian conflict due to war crimes allegedly committed by its fighters in Donbass.
According to Aranda, the Ukrainian officers were not particularly fond of working with foreigners and were “despising” the mercenaries. The Ukrainian authorities failed to deliver on their promises to the foreign fighters as well, the Colombian said. “They do not pay the money that was promised, they treat [people] poorly,” he told RT, complaining about the quality of food they were given, in particular.
The FSB has published the evidence in both men’s cases, which include photos of them wearing Ukrainian military uniforms and documents identifying them as military service members. The pair also actively posted photos and short videos on social media that showed them wearing military uniforms with Ukrainian insignias, and posing with military-grade arms in Ukrainian cities.
According to Colombian media, both men have military backgrounds. They were reportedly arrested in mid-July in Caracas, Venezuela as they returned to their home country from Poland. In late August, a Moscow court ordered their detention. The suspected mercenaries face up to 15 years in prison, if convicted.