The friendship between a Catalan soldier and a Valencian soldier facing off over the Ukrainian trench
As in all wars, Ukraine is rife with foreign fighters, who now play a key role due to the high number of casualties on both sides.
BarcelonaNobody knows for sure what the origin of Mother last night in the trenches, a song inspired by the Spanish Civil War. The lyrics speak of a historical reality in wars: the soldiers who wage them, More than enemies, they are often the same men dressed in different uniforms..
"Mother, last night in the trenches, between the fire and the shrapnel, the enemy came running, the night was closed / I aimed my rifle as I shot, and a light illuminated the face I was killing / It was my friend José, a schoolmate with whom I played soldiers and trenches so much".
The verse was sung to me over the phone by Simón de Monfort, a Spanish volunteer who has been fighting for a year and a half with the Russian army on the front lines in Ukraine. Simón de Monfort's name isn't Simón de Monfort. It's a nom de guerre. His real name is Juan Manuel Soria; he's 55 years old and is from Valencia. Before Ukraine, he had fought in Syria and Iraq. Before that, he had served in the Spanish army. Before that, he had led the neo-Nazi National Alliance party in Valencia. He says he fights with Vladimir Putin's troops out of conviction.
—Why did you join the Russian army?
–Purely for ideological reasons. This isn’t a border war, it’s an ideological, global war: the world hegemony wants to subjugate the only dissident country, which is Russia.
–But it was Putin who ordered the invasion of Ukraine.
–Because NATO and the United States have been threatening Russian sovereignty and territorial integrity for years.
–What do you think of the Ukrainians?
–They’re puppets of the United States. I don’t hate the Ukrainians. In fact, I have friends who are fighting on the other side of the front.
–What?
–Yes, Spaniards with whom I fought in Syria and Iraq. We were very good friends. Now they're dead.
It's about Pau Heras Mena, a young Catalan from Mollet del Vallès. who fell in combat in 2023, shot down by Russian missiles. He was 26 years old and was a gardener. It also tells of Jacobo, a man from Madrid who died in a Kiev hospital in May 2024 from pancreatic cancer after spending months fighting with Volodymyr Zelensky's troops. Jacobo saved his life while they fought together against the Islamic State in Syrian Kurdistan.
For months, and from different sides of the trench, soldiers Pau, Jacobo, Simón, and Andrés –a 25-year-old Spaniard from Teruel who fights with the Russians– They chatted almost every day on Telegram. Rather than talking about the war, they talked about trivial things. Or shared memories. Simón explains that they often said that, when the war was over, the four of them would meet up again and drink beer together. Telegram chats had to be reduced after the Ukrainian military discovered that Pablo Heras was talking to members of the enemy troops and began to suspect he was a Kremlin spy. The suspicions were unfounded: Pablo Heras had also joined the Ukrainian army out of conviction. –That doesn't mean anything. They were my friends and I respected their decision to defend the Ukrainians. –But what if it had happened?
–I suppose they would have done their job and I would have done mine to the best of my ability. lyrics of Mother last night in the trenches: "A light illuminated the face of the shooter. It was my friend José… In that case it would have been my friend Pau." But he corrects himself: "I would never have shot Pau. He was so young that I would have preferred him to have killed me. His death really pissed me off."
Simón de Monfort, Pau Heras and the soldiers Jacobo and Andrés are among the thousands of foreign volunteers who have fought in the war in Ukraine. This is also a historical reality.In every conflict, there are plenty of international soldiers who voluntarily enlist in distant wars. Latin Americans are explained, above all, by economic reasons: the salary of a soldier in the Ukrainian or Russian army—around 3,000 euros a month if you go into combat—is much higher than the salaries prevailing in these countries. People go to Ukraine to have fun. Europeans go to defend Europe. Latin Americans and Indians go for the money, because they're crazy or lost in life. Four clicks to become a legionnaire
Just three days after the Russian invasion began, Zelensky called on the world. "Anyone who wants to join the Ukrainian, European, and global defense can come and fight for Ukraine against Russian war criminals." The appeal was successful, and since then, an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 foreign citizens have joined Ukraine's international legion. In a war, calculations are never reliable, but they provide a guide.
Becoming a Kiev soldier isn't particularly difficult and, like almost everything else these days, must be done online. The headline "Join the Legionnaires. Defend the freedom of Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world" is at the top of the website. Below, there's a button that says "Join Now." One click. A page appears with the requirements for the position: age between 18 and 60, no criminal record or chronic illnesses, be in good physical shape, and have the necessary documents to legally enter Ukraine. There is an assessment: having military and combat experience is an advantage and will be positively valued. But the latter is not mandatory. You then have to submit a form that, in addition to your passport, asks you for things like what position you would like to occupy on the battlefield, what motivates you to defend Ukraine, and what your last job was.
Private Rizzer (nom de guerre), a young Catalan-Filipino living in Barcelona, painted on this website exactly a year ago. After a few days, the Kyiv Army accepted his application and invited him to join the ranks. What happened next is easy to summarize: he traveled to Ukraine, was trained by Zelensky's troops, was sent to the front, saw death, was wounded, and decided to return home months later, in the fall of last year.
It's a Thursday in April, and he's meeting me in the courtyard of the Ateneu Barcelonès. He's waiting for me, dressed in a jacket and tie. He's smoking a cigar. He's ordering a café con leche.
–Why did you join the Ukrainian army?
–To have the experience. I didn't need the money. I always wanted to be a soldier, but I wondered if I'd have the guts to fight in a war. I wanted to know what it felt like on a battlefield.
–And what does it feel like?
–Adrenaline. Survival instinct. And above all, the experience of camaraderie, of brotherhood that exists among soldiers. It's a tribal feeling that you can't experience here, living a normal life.
–Weren't you afraid?
–Not much. I had prepared myself a lot spiritually. I even found it fun to run across the battlefield, fleeing from the bombardment of artillery and drones. I had a feeling that I wouldn't die there.
Private Rizzler, indeed, didn't die. There was a lot of death around him. He mentally reviews who his group mates were: three Americans, a Chilean, an Argentinian, a Swede, a Finn, two Poles, an Englishman, a Frenchman, a Cypriot, and a Belarusian nurse. The Finn, the Englishman, one of the Poles, and one of the Americans are dead. The Swede and the Frenchman are still fighting. They maintain a WhatsApp group to stay in touch.
Private Rizzer is critical of the organization of the Ukrainian International Legion.
–Why?
–They promised me they’d train us for five weeks, and in the end it was only ten days.
–And they took you to the front.
–Yes, when you volunteer you know you can die, and in fact, they warn you of that possibility… but I got the feeling that our lives meant little to the Ukrainian officers.
–And then you left?
–Yes, back then I was free to leave whenever I wanted. Although this has changed now and foreign volunteers have to wait out the six-month contract.
–And now what do you do?
–I work as a manager at a hotel here in Barcelona.
–Are you going back to Ukraine?
–Not as a soldier. Maybe for a visit. I just met a Ukrainian girl on Tinder and we’re getting to know each other. She lives in Terrassa. We can go on trips together, but not to war.
Private Rizzer wants to ask me a question.
–Wouldn’t you dare go fight for Ukraine?
–No.
–Better. Really, I’d only advise it if you’re crazy.
There is a lack of manpower at the front
In recent months, Kiev and Moscow have stepped up their campaigns to recruit international fighters, as the losses in both armies are unbearable. In Ukraine, in the Europe of smartphones and low-cost flights everywhere, people have reached the level of killing and dying at the pace of World War II.
Joan Estevez, a Catalan mercenary who has fought with Ukrainian troops for months, admitted this a few weeks ago. "The best generations of Ukrainian soldiers have died or suffered injuries incompatible with combat. Kiev has a serious manpower problem on the front lines," he said in an interview with ARA.In Russia, where the reality is even less transparent, the picture is similar. There is evidence that the Kremlin has systematically used soldiers as cannon fodder, condemned to suicide missions. There is also evidence that the Kremlin has deceived citizens of countries such as Cuba, Nepal, India, China, and Mexico, promising them ordinary jobs in Moscow or other Russian cities, only to end up signing contracts that obligate them to go to the front.
There is no official website on the Internet that allows you to directly enlist as an international volunteer in Russian troops. All the necessary information circulates through Telegram channels aligned with the regime.. You need a contact to access them, but it's not especially difficult to find one. Once you have contacts, they'll explain how to get to Moscow, from where you'll be sent to areas closer to the front to receive military training and, after a few weeks, you'll go into combat.
Simón Monfort explains that he signed three six-month contracts with the Russian army. The first two were with the León unit, an assault group made up mostly of ex-convicts who fought in the most delicate positions on the front. The third was with the Española, a division made up mostly of ultras recruited on Russian football fields. During all this time, Simón Monfort fought on the front lines on the Vuhledar, Bakhmut, and Chasiv Iar fronts.
"If I'm alive, it's because God exists."
"Why?"
–I've been fighting in assault groups for a year and a half. We attacked Ukrainian positions on foot. The last assault we made with the Spanish, there were 12 of us. Two died, seven were seriously wounded, and only three of us survived with minor injuries.
–Were you forced to go to the front line?
–No, it's always been of your own free will. What doesn't make sense is to go to war out of conviction and avoid the battlefield. I would fight for Russia for free, because I believe in its cause.
–Are you willing to die for Russia?
For security reasons, Simón Monfort says he can't tell me whether he'll be returning to Russia to fight soon. He now lives with Private Andrés in a village in Valencia. For security reasons, he won't tell me which village it is either. They're planning to go soon to pay tribute to the remains of Private Pau Heras, in Mollet del Vallès. For security reasons, he won't tell me when either.
Amid so many secrets, it seems they're leading a fairly quiet life: in one of the calls, he excuses himself by telling me he has to hang up because he and Private Andrés are building a chicken coop.