WorldHe fled Maduro’s Venezuela. Now he leads Ukraine’s South American battalion

Venezuelan Colonel Jose David Chaparro commands Ukraine’s Bolivar Battalion, a drone unit within the Security Service of Ukraine’s Special Operations Center “A.” Three years after its founding, the battalion has about 250 soldiers, mostly Colombians, alongside volunteers from several other countries. Chaparro fled Venezuela with his family after opposing Maduro’s crackdown and volunteered to fight after Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

Ukraine warforeign volunteersdrone unit

TThe Kyiv Independent★★★☆☆2026-10-05 17:14Original