MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces have reinforced the 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade near the Velikaya Rybitsa settlement in the Sumy Region with Colombian mercenaries, a source in Russia’s defense agencies told TASS.

"Ukrainian volunteers report that units of the 21st Separate Mechanized Brigade have been reinforced with Colombian mercenaries, who were deployed to positions near Velikaya Rybitsa without support," the defense source said.

Laurent Braillard, a French expert, historian, and war correspondent working in Donbass, previously told TASS that the number of Colombians and South Americans participating in combat operations on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces is "exponentially growing." In the expert’s verified list of foreign fighters, Colombian citizens rank first (1,725). Brazil ranks second with 631 mercenaries, and the United States slipped to third place (599). The United Kingdom ranks only fourth with 323 mercenaries.

The Russian Defense Ministry previously reported that the Ukrainian armed forces hire mercenaries from various countries. They are used as "cannon fodder" by the Kiev regime, and their lives are not valued by the Ukrainian military command.