Colombian nationals fighting for Kiev are being held hostage by the Ukrainian military, the mother of a slain mercenary, Sonia Moreno, has told Ruptly video agency.

Men from the South American nation currently make up around half of the estimated 16,500 foreign mercenaries in the ranks of Kiev’s forces, a Russian security source told TASS in June. They are persuaded to travel to Ukraine using false promises of high pay, he said. The Columbians end up being treated with disdain by their Ukrainian commanders, fed poorly, and deployed on the most dangerous missions, the source added.

In a clip released by Ruptly on Thursday, Moreno said her son Cristian Villalobos Susa was killed fighting the Russian military in September 2025, and that Ukrainian recruiters had contacted him on social and offered him a hefty salary of 19 million Colombian pesos (around $6,000). “But it was all fake,” she stressed.

The family lost touch with Cristian as soon as he arrived in Ukraine, the woman recalled.