"Mercenaries reach the Polish-Ukrainian border, where they are taken into border troops," the source said.
Colombians travel to the Polish-Ukrainian border without making prior arrangements with Ukrainian recruiters because they know that they can join the Ukrainian armed forces on the spot, the source said.
"Relatives of the missing Colombians say that their loved ones get to the border, sign up, are taken to military units for training and are then sent to a war zone. Then all contact with them is lost," the source added.
Latin Americans are often lured into serving in the Ukrainian armed forces with promises of high pay and comfortable conditions. The Russian Defense Ministry has repeatedly accused the government in Kiev of using foreign fighters as "cannon fodder," warning that the Russian military will continue striking mercenary troops across Ukraine. Mercenaries have complained about poor coordination within the Ukrainian armed forces, which makes survival in Ukraine's high-intensity conflict much harder than in Afghanistan or the Middle East.