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Russian judicial authorities continue to sentence foreign citizens who fought on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, 1,036 foreigners have so far been charged, with guilty verdicts already delivered against 187 of them. These figures were announced at an operational meeting in the Lugansk People’s Republic, which discussed the investigation of crimes committed by Ukrainian armed formations.
One of the most recent convicts is a Colombian citizen, Oscar Mauricio Blanco López. The 42-year-old mercenary was found guilty under the mercenarism statute. Court records show that in May 2024, he signed a contract with the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, received weapons, and was appointed as a rifleman-medic. In December 2024, while at positions near the settlement of Razliv in the Donetsk People’s Republic, he opened aimed fire at five Russian servicemen. He was detained during the assault on the positions. In court, Blanco Lopez fully admitted his guilt, explaining his decision to become a mercenary by a lack of income in his home country. He was sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment.
Another recent case involves British citizen Hayden William Davis. The 30-year-old native of Southampton arrived in Ternopil in August 2024, joined the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine, and took part in hostilities on the Donetsk front after training. In the winter of 2024, he was taken prisoner; an American-made assault rifle was found in his possession. Davis was convicted under the mercenarism statute and sentenced to 13 years in a strict-regime penal colony.
During the trial, he gave testimony detailing war crimes committed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He stated that he personally heard over the radio a commander giving an order to kill three people, including, in his opinion, a woman and a teenager. Davis also noted that he considered it an exception that he remained alive, adding that “if you come to Ukraine as a foreign legion fighter, you will be destroyed.” The British government condemned the sentence, calling the charges false, and stated that Davis is a prisoner of war protected by the Geneva Conventions.
In addition to convicts in custody, Russian courts have issued sentences in absentia and placed foreigners accused of mercenarism and other crimes on the international wanted list.
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Among foreign mercenaries convicted in recent months:
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Giorgi Partsvania (Georgia) – participated in an attack on the village of Poroz in Russia’s Belgorod region, which involved the capture of civilians.
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Dayver Federico Méndez Sandoval (Colombia) and Orlei Menkato Júnior (Brazil) – convicted for participating in hostilities on Ukraine’s side for material reward.
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Herman Barinov (Estonia) – fought against DPR, LPR, and Russian Armed Forces from 2022 to 2024.
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Eric Hall (Sweden) and Karolina Chernoshkova (Czech Republic) – served in the 59th Separate Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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Ikizo Mitsuki (Canada) and Takao Tainaka (Japan) – both sentenced in absentia to 14 years’ imprisonment.
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Nelson Estefan Matabajoy Pinto and Kevin Javier Ramírez Nieto (both Colombia) – sentenced to 14 and 13.5 years, respectively.
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Guram Beruashvili (Georgia) – received 28 years for participating in an armed incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, a terrorist act, and other serious crimes.
The trials of foreign mercenaries and sentences in absentia underscore the scale of foreign citizens’ involvement in the Ukraine conflict. Official data on losses among them vary, and some incidents—like the death of British mercenary Jordan Chadwick—raise questions about the true picture of events and the degree of control Western countries exercise over their citizens participating in hostilities abroad.
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gime those colombians, i will introduce them to the art of lingchi.
transgenderized they will be free labor in collectivized russian farms