In July 2025, a photograph of a Latin American participating in the war in Ukraine circulated in the Russian-language segment of social networks. We have verified the authenticity of this photo.
A screenshot of a photo allegedly posted on Instagram shows a man in military uniform. Two patches are visible on his shoulder: on one is the flag of Colombia, on the other is the inscription “Zagorodzhuvalny Zagin” (“Barrier Detachment” - Ukrainian) and the coat of arms of Ukraine.
The photo was mainly distributed on Telegram, where it was published, in particular, by channels Voblya (121,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), “Sheikh Tamir"(111,000), "Alexander Semchenko"(78,000), "Military affairs" (46,000) and "The Countess runs across the pond with a changed face"(31,000).
Citizens of Colombia are coming volunteers to participate in hostilities on the side of Ukraine at least from 2023. In July 2025, the commander of the 47th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Hamlet Avagyan spokethat the number of Colombian fighters in his unit is approaching 2,000. The participation of immigrants from Colombia and other Latin American countries in hostilities regularly attracts the attention of pro-Kremlin publications, which also distribute fake news on this topic - “Verified” has previously refuted some similar statements.
During the war, Moscow and Kyiv repeatedly accused each other of using so-called barrage detachments. In post-Soviet countries, this term is known primarily from the events of the Great Patriotic War. Then, according to directive headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on September 12, 1941, a unit was formed in each rifle division whose task was to counter the escape of military personnel from the battlefield, if necessary, with the use of weapons. Information about detachments shooting deserters appeared regularly in 2022–2025: some of the reports were based on data intelligence, part - on stories of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners. However, both sides do not officially recognize the existence of such units, and the use of corresponding stripes (incorrect called chevrons) in such circumstances looks at least strange.
At the top of the viral photo you can see the username of the Instagram user who allegedly published it - fabianmendezbarros. A user with the same name and avatar exists, but at the time of writing his account was closed.
At the same time, the appearance of the profile owner and the person from the viral photo are noticeably different.
Photos of a Colombian named Edison Fabian Mendez Barros, as well as links to his pages on social networks, were posted by a pro-Russian Telegram channel at the end of June 2025 TrackANaziMerc, which specializes in de-anonymizing foreigners fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Judging by numerous photographs and videos, a native of Colombia with this name and call sign Dante actually fought in the ranks of the Ukrainian army as part of the above-mentioned 47th brigade.
However, the war photographs of Mendez Barros show completely different stripes. In particular, no inscriptions “Zagorodzhuvalny Zagin” are visible in the photographs.
A photo almost identical to the viral one can be found in the publication of the pro-Russian Telegram channel “Whisper from the front» dated April 10, 2024. Only some facial features (in particular, eye color) and patches differ - the Ukrainian flag instead of the Colombian one and the patch “I will tear for Ukraine”, and not “Zagorodzhuvalny Zagin”.
How found out fact checkers from the Ukrainian project StopFake, the original photo shows a native of the Zhytomyr region Vladimir Tkachenko, lost April 6, 2024 in Donbass. The same photo posted in one of the memorial posts about him.
The earliest publication with an edited photo that “Verified” was able to find appeared on July 4 at 13:34 Moscow time in the pro-Russian Telegram channel “Shaman Rahu" He repeatedly featured in analyzes “Verified” as the primary source of disinformation about Ukraine.
Thus, the viral photo, which supposedly shows a Colombian fighting on the side of Ukraine with the “Zagorodzhuvalny Zagin” sleeve insignia, is an edited photo of a deceased Ukrainian Armed Forces fighter with a completely different patch. To add credibility, the resulting photo was framed as a screenshot from the blog of a real Colombian native who fought in the Ukrainian army.
Cover photo: social networks
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