In Maidan Square, in kyiv, there is a group of Spanish flags among a sea of Ukrainian and other countries' flags.
They are pennants nailed to one of the flower beds in the symbolic center of the capital, national colors that honor soldiers who died fighting against the Russian invasion.
The Spanish flags are recent, placed since last December by the comrades of two soldiers: one is Pau Heras, a Catalan who died that month in a Russian assault;
the other is Abuelo, the code name of a Cantabrian military veteran officially missing since last November.
Although there is no confirmation, his comrades-in-arms in Ukraine claim that he died.
Ukrainian and Russian military protocol states that without recovery of the body, a soldier cannot be officially presumed dead.
There is the option that this combatant survived and was captured by the enemy.
According to the Ukrainian Government, there are “tens of thousands” of its military personnel officially missing.
Heras's body was recovered in a trench during the current battle of Avdiivka, in Donetsk province, by his comrades from the 59th Motorized Brigade.
Abuelo's case—his initials are MO—is more complex: Spanish diplomatic sources confirm that he is missing.
His wife has explained in conversation with EL PAÍS that they are awaiting official notification from the Spanish Embassy of his death or his situation during his lifetime.
This newspaper has spoken with two Spanish soldiers who coincided in Ukraine with MO and with a senior political official linked to the investigation process of the events.
The three sources, who prefer to remain anonymous, assume that MO died in November 2023 in a Russian attack on the Andriivka front, also in Donetsk province.
The Kremlin's troops, superior in weapons resources and number of troops, are once again advancing on the front, in Donetsk and in the province of Kharkiv.
Andriivka is one of the points where the invader's pressure is most intense and where the most Ukrainian casualties occur.
Grandfather was part of the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Company of the International Legion.
Born in 1980, he was a soldier with extensive experience, with 18 years of service in the 64th Mountain Hunter Regiment of the Spanish Army.
He disappeared on his first combat mission in Ukraine.
The version of events provided by his companions differs in some details, but agrees that MO was fatally hit by a Russian drone bomb and that, before dying, he handed his rifle to a companion, a Colombian paramedic.
Another version of events claims that MO was wounded by Russian artillery and took refuge under the remains of a destroyed armored vehicle.
When he tried to flee, a drone finished him off.
Most of the components of the Abuelo Company come from Peru and Colombia.
Communication in the same language in a unit is key to the functioning of the team.
Colombia is one of the countries that is contributing the most mercenaries to the Ukrainian ranks.
The International Legion recruitment website can only be consulted in two languages: English and Spanish.
The Kyiv Independent
reported on February 2 that the foreign fighters with the most casualties are Georgians with at least 60 deaths.
But the sources consulted for this information assure that the number of deceased Colombians is much higher.
The number of Spaniards who have taken part in the conflict is unknown, but the soldiers interviewed are convinced that the number may be close to a hundred.
The two Spaniards who shared time with Abuelo in Ukraine – that is how they usually refer to him – claim that the body was recovered at the end of December and that it is in a morgue in the city of Dnipro.
The Ukrainian authorities hope that the family or Spanish diplomacy will appear to identify the body, according to the testimony of these people.
Another source familiar with the events denies that the Ukrainian Government is aware that the body is there.
The family has not been informed of this either.
Manuel Ruiz, brother of MO's woman, explains that he maintains regular contact with the Spanish Embassy in kyiv while waiting for official confirmation of his relative's status.
Ruiz adds that the police have taken DNA samples from MO's father and sisters in case the body was evacuated, in case he had died at the front, and it was necessary to identify him.
Ruiz highlights the pain that the family suffers due to the uncertainty and because his sister, without an official certificate of what happened, cannot request either the widow's pension or the compensation linked to a possible death of MO.
Economic need
Ruiz also comments that his brother-in-law, who has two children, possibly decided to enlist in Ukraine out of economic necessity.
The salary for combat operations in the Ukrainian Army is 2,500 euros per month.
Grandfather's belongings remain at the Legion base in Kramatorsk (Donetsk).
These are mainly clothing and military equipment, but also more intimate objects such as a Spanish flag, a copy of the Bible, a self-help book or a patch with the flags of Peru and Ukraine.
Officially, three Spaniards have died during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to Pau Heras, the Mallorcan Ángel Adrover, also recruited by the International Legion, died in June 2022.
The Catalan aid worker Emma Igual was murdered in September 2023 while her NGO was evacuating civilians near Bajmut, due to the impact of a Russian missile against the van in which she was traveling.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends not traveling to Ukraine “under any circumstances.”
The Spanish Government does not assume any responsibility for Spanish citizens who decide to fight in Ukraine.
Spanish flags in honor of fighters killed in Ukraine, this Tuesday in Maidán Square. Cristian Segura
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