Mexican Army veteran fights in Ukraine; fought cartels 10 years ago

A 29-year-old Mexican, identified only by the name Luis, is one of the 20,000 foreigners fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against the Russian army, as he moved to the country of Eastern Europe to join the forces fighting the invasion.

The American newspaper The New York Times made a compilation of foreigners who are enlisted to fight alongside the Ukrainian army, in which Luis appears, who decided to move to the war zone after seeing a photograph of a pregnant woman leaving a bombed hospital.

“I saw my sister's face on that woman,” Luis said in an interview, because that was the moment when he decided to enlist. The Mexican is in the city of Lviv awaiting military instructions to join one of the lines of combat against the Russians.

The Mexican refused to reveal his identity because of the likely repercussions it could have on Mexico after fighting for a foreign army, since he was part of the Army until ten years ago, after he retired.

Luis, who served as a wedding photographer until his enlistment, fought drug cartels on national territory while he was part of the Mexican army, so his military experience could be one of the considerations that the Ukrainian authorities took into account in accepting the veteran's help.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba announced a few days ago that more than 20 thousand were extracted have joined the ranks of civilians who are fighting for the sovereignty of their country against the Russian invasion that began on February 24.

For his part, the Mexican Omar Aviña, who had been residing in Ukraine for two months, had to flee the country after the invasion just a few days after his wedding to Iryna Volkoba, originally from the country of Eastern Europe.

The Michoacán and his partner heard the first bombings in the country at the end of February, so they were forced to take refuge in a metro station to try to stay alive and avoid falling victim to the Russian attack.

Aviña, 32, is a language teacher, as well as practicing martial arts. He left almost two months ago from Jacona, Michoacán, for Ukraine to reunite with Iryna's family and ask for her hand in marriage, but before finishing the preparations, the Russian army attacked the country, forcing it to change its plans and his and his girlfriend's future aimed directly at Mexico.

The two met in the Chinese city of Beijing five years ago, as they were studying there, she in law and he in physical education. They fell in love after having a friendship of several months, which resulted in a relationship that continued even after each one returned to their country of origin.

Omar Aviña used his social networks to describe the atmosphere of anxiety that existed in underground stations, where dozens of families slept on the floors while trying to calm down from the roar of explosions on the surface. The young Mexican wandered the corridors and, like hundreds of Ukrainian citizens, wondered how long they would stay safe in that shelter.

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