The number of foreign mercenaries fighting on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been revealed

Around 10,000 foreign mercenaries may be fighting on Ukraine’s side, with a significant share of them having come from Latin American countries.

This was reported to TASS by former SBU officer Vasily Prozorov.

In his assessment, the total number of mercenaries is not critically high and does not have a decisive effect on the overall size of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Prozorov noted that among the foreign fighters, approximately 6,000 to 7,000 may be from Latin American countries.

Earlier, Robinson Farinazzo, a retired officer of the Brazilian Navy and an analyst, said that around 60 to 70 Brazilian citizens who had taken part in combat on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces had suffered fatal injuries. According to him, more than 500 Brazilians had arrived in Ukraine to take part in the armed conflict. Back in November 2025, the number of those who had not survived the fighting ranged from 45 to 50. By now, that figure has increased to 60 to 70.

At the end of February, Apti Alaudinov, deputy head of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Defense Ministry, said that most foreign mercenaries fighting with the Ukrainian armed forces do not return alive from positions in the Sumy region. According to the lieutenant general, the Ukrainian military command uses foreigners in exactly the same way as its own personnel — throwing them onto the front line as “cannon fodder.”