Colombian Fighter Receives 19-Year Sentence in Russian-Controlled Donetsk for Supporting Ukraine

A court in Russian-occupied Ukraine, backed by Moscow, sentenced a Colombian national to 19 years in prison on Wednesday for his involvement with Ukraine’s military forces.

Russia has imprisoned several foreign combatants captured by its troops in eastern Ukraine, treating them as mercenaries rather than as prisoners of war, who would be afforded protection under the Geneva Convention.

According to the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, the Supreme Court in the Donetsk region, which is under Russian control, handed down the 19-year sentence to a man identified as Oscar Mauricio Blanco Lopez.

The report stated that the 42-year-old had traveled to Ukraine in May 2024 with the intention of joining the Ukrainian armed forces and was subsequently captured by Russian soldiers in December 2025.

The court released a video showing him emotionlessly standing behind bars while the sentence was announced.

Just last week, this same court imposed a 13-year prison term on a British citizen for also fighting on behalf of Ukraine.