DONETSK, March 13. /TASS/. Colombian citizens are acting as intermediaries in recruiting their compatriots into the Ukrainian military, captured Colombian mercenary Jose Luis Pocheco Navarra, who was himself recruited by a fellow citizen named Jesus, told TASS in an interview.
"I was in Colombia. A man named Jesus contacted me, invited me to work in Ukraine, and called me there to fight. <...> Jesus is also a Colombian citizen," the mercenary said.
According to him, the recruiter prepared the full set of documents required for travel to Ukraine and then sent them to Navarra.
The documents included a request from the head of the military-civilian administration of Zaporozhye, Ivan Fedorov, for Colombian citizens to travel to Ukraine, allegedly to take part in construction work, as well as plane tickets and several other documents required for the trip. Copies of these papers were found on the mercenary's phone.
According to the documents, the route ran from Colombia through Panama and then to Poland, which became the final destination of the Colombian group's flight, including Navarra. There, the group was met by the recruiter, Jesus, who transported them to Ukraine.
A total of 15 Colombian citizens were listed in the Ukrainian official's request.
On March 11, TASS reported that a platoon of Ukrainian army soldiers led by a mercenary from Colombia had surrendered to Russian forces in the Zaporozhye Region. Later, a document was found on the foreigner's phone confirming that Kiev had recruited Colombians into the Ukrainian army under the guise of participating in construction and reconstruction work in Ukrainian regions.