Is it true that three mercenaries from Colombia were wounded as a result of the attack on a restaurant in Kramatorsk?

After a missile strike by Russian troops on the center of Kramatorsk on June 27, 2023, some sources reported that the injured Colombians were not random civilians. We checked whether this is actually true.

On the evening of June 27, Russian troops inflicted missile strike on the center of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region. By message Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Ermak, there were two missiles: one hit the building where there was a restaurant filled with visitors, the second fell on the suburban village of Belenkoye. Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported about the death of 12 people (including three children) and the injury of 65 civilians. In turn, the Russian Ministry of Defense statedthat the Russian military attacked “the point of temporary deployment of the command staff of the 56th motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Soon after it became known about numerous casualties and destruction in Kramatorsk as a result of the strike, Russian federal television channels reportedthat among those killed were “experienced Western thugs” who were hiding “under the guise of civilians.” Particular attention in reports from the scene was given to three Colombian citizens who were injured as a result of the flight. Some Telegram channels expressed doubt that these people are civilians (for example, Readovka, where the corresponding post at the time of writing the analysis received 868,000 views). And channels like Zergulio (88,000 views) and "Military Review"(16,000), they wrote in plain text that “in fact, they were two attack aircraft and a sniper.”

On the night of June 27-28, “Russian Service BBC» with reference to the Ukraine support group in Latin America Aguanta Ukraine reported that three Colombian citizens were injured in Kramatorsk. As stated, this is the founder of the organization, deputy Sergio Jaramillo, writer Hector Abad and journalist Catalina Gomez.

In published in social networks In an open letter, Jaramillo and Abad said that on the evening of June 27 they had dinner at the RAI pizzeria (in fact, RIA) in Kramatorsk with a Ukrainian writer Victoria Amelinawhen the building came under missile attack. According to them, the restaurant was a popular meeting place for international correspondents and the public Kramatorsk. In this and other cities of Donbass, Colombians collected materials for their social movement Aguanta Ucrania. Three Latinos escaped with minor injuries, but Amelina was taken to the hospital with a head injury and was in serious condition.

Could these Colombians actually be experienced thugs who came to Donbass to take part in the fighting?

It's easy to check. The most famous of the three is Sergio Jaramillo Caro, Advisor to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense of Colombia (2000-2003), Executive Director of the Ideas for Peace Foundation in Bogota (2004-2006), Deputy Minister of Defense of Colombia for Political and International Affairs (2006-2009), National Security Advisor to the President of the country (2010-2012) and High Commissioner for Peace (2012-2016). His talent as a negotiator played an important role in the signing peace agreements with the FARC rebel group, putting an end to half a century of confrontation in the country.

In early 2023, Jaramillo founded organization Aguanta Ucrania (“Hold on, Ukraine”), whose goal is to tell the world community about the humanitarian catastrophe in Ukraine. Many Latin American celebrities have joined the initiative, such as the Chilean writer Isabel Allende. Her colleague, a Colombian, was also among the movement activists Hector Abad. His novelOblivion we will be"became a cult favorite in Spanish-speaking countries (more than 250,000 copies were released), and film adaptation The book won the 2021 Goya Award for Best Ibero-American Film. The purpose of coming to Ukraine is words writer, took part in a book fair in Kyiv, after which he and his compatriots decided to visit the front-line regions of the country. Note that Abad is 64 years old, while Jaramillo is 56, and in both cases this is, to put it mildly, uncharacteristic age for members of assault squads.

The third foreigner in this companies there was Catalina Gomez. This journalist since 2007 dedicated its work in the Middle East, and in the last year has actively covered the Russian invasion of Ukraine. She works for the Spanish-language service of France 24 and Radio France Internationale. On Gomez’s personal Twitter also shared his impressions of Ukraine before and after the attack on Kramatorsk.

Thus, all three Colombian citizens injured as a result of the Russian missile attack in Kramatorsk are well-known representatives of their professions, far from the military sphere. There is no doubt that it was they who were at the scene of the strike, and not the dummy people - this can be seen from the reaction of all three on social networks and in interviews with the media. When Colombian President Gustavo Petro in his twitter stated that Russia, by attacking three defenseless citizens of Colombia, violated war protocols, the Russian embassy in Colombia named the very idea of ​​a trip to a front-line city was “reckless,” but in no way called into question the identity of these citizens.

Cover photo: State Emergency Service of Ukraine

Not true

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