Ukraine’s Armed Forces is home to recruits from 72 different nations with nearly 40% hailing from South America, it has been revealed.

Kostiantyn Milevskyi, the officer responsible for coordinating foreign elistment, claims the figure reflects a growing international presence in the country’s defence effort against the attempted Russian invasion

In an interview with hromadske, a Ukrainian independent media outlet, he explained how foreign recruitment has increased significantly since the early days of Russia’s attack.

Data reveals how they were welcoming between 100 to 150 foreigners to their ranks each month back in 2022, but this number that has since risen considerably to approximately 600.

This is helped by the Ukrainian government’s decision to cover the travel costs of incoming international volunteers, while they also issue temporary residence permits.

Milevskyi said: “We can say that the percentage of foreign nationals in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has increased, this has been influenced by the launch of our Foreign Recruitment Center.”

Hromadske claims more than 8,000 foreign nationals have joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and that the overall number across all its military branches is more than likely to be twice as high.

The exact countries of origin have not been disclosed in order to protect operational security, though Milevskyi did confirm a large number have arrived from Colombia.

He said: “They’ve openly admitted many times that the level of pay in the Armed Forces of Ukraine is currently much higher than in their home militaries.

“But these are also people with military experience, and they want to continue doing what they’ve been trained for, further developing their skills here, and, of course, to earn a decent wage.”

Meanwhile, a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump has been agreed, a Kremlin official said, and it could possibly take place next week at a venue that has been decided “in principle”.

“At the suggestion of the American side, it has been agreed in principle to hold a bilateral meeting at the highest level in the coming days,” Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Next week is the target date for a summit, Mr Ushakov said, while noting that such events take time to organise and no date is confirmed.

A meeting between Mr Putin and Mr Trump would be their first since the Republican president returned to office this year.

It would be a significant milestone in the war, though there is no promise such a meeting would lead to the end of the fighting, since Russia and Ukraine remain far apart on their demands.