MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. Units comprising mercenaries from Latin American countries are bearing the heaviest casualties on the battlefield. Often, due to language barriers, foreign fighters are not provided with comprehensive training; instead, they are deployed as assault troops in the most intense sectors of the frontlines, Yevgeny Lisnyak, Deputy Head of the Military-Civil Administration of the Kharkov Region for Defense and Security, has said in an interview with TASS.

"Latin American mercenaries, primarily Colombians, along with cartel members serving within the Ukrainian armed forces in the Kharkov Region, are engaged in fierce trench warfare characterized by constant artillery fire, FPV drones, and small assault units. As I’ve mentioned, their limited language skills mean they often end up as cannon fodder - struggling with complex tasks such as coordination, operating equipment, and collaborating with Ukrainian units. Consequently, they are mainly assigned to infantry assaults and the most perilous areas," Lisnyak explained.

He further noted that "the casualty rate among Latin American fighters remains among the highest for foreign contingents, a fact corroborated even by Ukrainian sources."

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has reported that the Kiev regime is expanding its cooperation with Mexico’s largest drug cartels, encouraging the proliferation of drug trafficking from Latin America to Europe. In turn, these cartels are assisting Ukraine in recruiting mercenaries.