Colombia urges Russia and Ukraine to stop recruiting its citizens for the war

Colombia has called on Russia and Ukraine to stop recruiting its citizens into their armed forces and help return Colombians already serving in the two countries, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday.

The ministry said Colombia “does not support, encourage or authorize” its citizens to take part in international armed conflicts or provide military service abroad. It has recorded 863 requests for consular assistance involving Colombians in Ukraine and another 890 linked to Colombians in Russia.

The requests cover several situations. They include citizens who died and whose remains were repatriated or buried abroad at their families' decision, cases awaiting repatriation, people officially declared missing in combat, and others reported missing by relatives without official confirmation.

The Foreign Ministry said it had identified people spreading deceptive job offers and helping Colombians travel to territories involved in the conflict. It submitted 21 complaints to Colombia's Prosecutor General's Office for investigation.

The government has also created a preventive assistance protocol at passport-issuing offices. The measure aims to identify applicants who say they intend to travel abroad to serve in armed forces involved in international conflicts. Colombia's appeal follows similar requests from other Latin American and African countries concerning recruitment for the Russian and Ukrainian armies.

The article says Russia recruits foreign fighters as one way to offset a severe shortage of troops at the front and heavy casualties. Human rights organizations have also accused Russia of operating a recruitment network aimed at vulnerable people across several continents, using job offers, scholarships or promises of citizenship to attract them.

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does not support, encourage or authorize