Colombian Fighters Sentenced to 13 Years in Russia for Supporting Ukraine

They have become the latest foreign fighters to receive lengthy sentences as «mercenaries» from authorities installed by Russia after joining the Ukrainian military.

According to the prosecutor’s office via Telegram, Alexander Ante, 48, and Jose Aron Medina Aranda, 37, were each handed down a 13-year prison term for “involvement in hostilities alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine.”

The two men had participated in combat for Ukraine in 2023 and 2024, but disappeared in July while on a layover in Venezuela, a Russian ally, as they were returning home after their service.

In July 2024, the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo reported that they had been apprehended by police in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, still in their Ukrainian military uniforms.

They were later seen in a video released by Russia’s FSB, handcuffed, dressed in Russian prison garb, and escorted through a court facility by masked security personnel.

“I don’t know if we will ever see them again; that’s the harsh reality,” said Medina’s wife, Cielo Paz, while speaking to AFP. She noted that she hadn’t been in touch with him since his arrest and condemned the sentence as unjust.

The Colombian government has reported that many Colombians have died in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with numerous individuals traveling there to fight against Russia.

Moscow has been prosecuting captured foreign fighters as “mercenaries,” a designation that can lead to sentences of up to 15 years in prison, rather than recognizing them as prisoners of war with rights defined by the Geneva Conventions.