This 2023 photo provided by a 32-year-old professional soldier from Medellín, Colombia who goes by the call sign Checho shows him in his combat gear in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. Checho says he was struck by fire from a drone during a rescue operation to save a wounded colleague on the front line after three days of heavy fighting with Russian forces. At the hospital in the Kyiv region, Checho found himself with more than fifty other Colombians, most with light injuries sustained while fighting Russian occupation forces in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region. They are among hundreds of Colombian veterans who have made the journey to Ukraine to help its forces fight the Russians. (Courtesy of Checho via AP)
