MOSCOW, June 6. /TASS/. A Colombian citizen who fought for Ukraine’s 59th Brigade and surrendered to Russian troops has advised his compatriots against joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry.
"The Ukrainians deceived us. They said we would be guarding a building, but we found ourselves right in the line of fire instead," Angel Cardenas Montilla said.
Montilla, who does not speak either Russian or Ukrainian, said he had arrived in Ukraine on an ad on TikTok that invited mercenaries to join "the war on Russia."
A former Colombian policeman, Montilla underwent a fast-tracked training process "on a training range" during which he and his nine compatriots were shown what "shooting at a firing range is like, how to throw grenades and something basic that resembled an offensive."
He said foreigners like him who had arrived in Ukraine "without realizing how things stand" were simply being deceived by Ukrainian commanders who he said were sending them to die. "They abandoned us and never supported us," he lamented.
The Colombian added that he had surrendered near the village of Krasnogorovka after all his fellow citizens had been killed. He suddenly remembered he had a family and four children and that the Ukrainians hadn’t paid him a cent yet, so he changed his uniform for plain clothes, put down his weapon and raised his hands as he came out of hiding.
Montilla recounted "very good treatment" in Russian captivity, and said that he was "always offered food and water." Also, he described Russian servicemen as being "very smart and highly skilled in orienteering."