Spanish soldier killed in Ukraine, body still unrecovered

The Cantabrian soldier killed in Ukraine whose body remains unrecovered

There is a contradiction that Miguel Ortiz's family cannot digest. The Ukrainian Army maintains the label of "missing" for a man who, according to his relatives, is dead and whose location the Ukrainian military knows. His sister, Beatriz Ortiz, said bluntly: "They know perfectly well where he fell. Let them do what they have to do, let them find a way." The Cantabrian soldier, callsign Abuelo, had left behind a vvife and two children—aged 14 and 19—to enlist in the International Legion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in autumn 2023. His first mission was also his last.

What peine to the Cantabrian soldier in Ukraine

The last communication with his loved ones was on November 22, 2023. He sent a video stating he had been sent on a "rescue" mission for missing and apparently wounded soldiers. Two days later, on November 24, he was killed in that same operation by a Russian drone. His body was not recovered. On February 14, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a Cantabrian soldier volunteering in the war in Ukraine was "missing." The family considers it "almost ruled out" that he was taken hostage and has lost hope of finding him alive; if he were in Russian hands, they argue, he would have signaled.

Why does Ukraine declare him missing instead of deceased?

Because there is no certification of death. The family claims the Ukrainian army knows he is dead but keeps him listed as missing. Until the death is certified, the family cannot bury him: there is no body, no grave, and for now, no explanation. Relatives have been asked for DNA samples, a procedure that practically means identification remains open. His brother-in-law, Manuel Ruiz Iglesias, told COPE Cantabria that information provided by the Ministry is scarce and that the soldier is either "prisoner in some Russian prison or dead." The family also wonders why they are not receiving his salary if he hasn't been declared deceased.

How much is paid to those fighting for Ukraine?

Less than the image of the well-paid mercenary suggests. Estimates circulating in the debate range between 2,000 and 3,000 euros per month for international volunteers, a figure that seems ridiculous compared to what was paid in Iraq: according to one participant in the discussion, a US company offered 12,000 tax-free dollars for civilian missions in the Green Zone and up to 15,000 dollars for truck drivers. Those comparing both scenarios see not a career path, but a decision difficult to justify solely with money.

Is enlisting as a mercenary in a foreign conflict a crime?

The question looms over the case without an official answer. Some recall that, on the opposing side, some foreign volunteers faced incivil proceedings upon returning home, while others point out that enlisting for pay in a war-torn country is not exactly tourism. In the Spanish case, no one has specified which legal framework covers—if any—who signs with a foreign army. Administrative silence in these matters usually lasts until the affected person appears in headlines.

The accounting of casualties that doesn't add up

There is an uncomfortable distance between the two categories in the file. One participant in the debate argues, without providing proof, that this boundary between dead and missing explains why the official Ukrainian discourse has estimated 31,000 fallen soldiers while thousands of combatants are simply listed as missing. There is no independent verification of this calculation and authorities have not confirmed it, but the suspicion is already part of the narrative.

The shadow of the Blue Division and media silence

The comparison has run through comments on the case: a Spaniard enlisting to fight outside Spain has precedent, and not precisely a glorious one. The Blue Division (the Spanish volunteer unit sent to the USSR during WWII) reappears in the arguments of those who see more war romanticism than political conscience in these decisions. Some also note the lack of coverage in mainstream media compared to other episodes of the war. The opacity regarding specific circumstances—the mission, the unit, the chain of command—thus becomes an argument in itself.

On the table remains a request that needs no adjectives: that someone recover a body and return it to its family. And a question no one has answered: What exactly does the international structure recruiting European veterans for a war that is not theirs do?