 Colombian soldiers replace fighting drug cartels with a war on Putin. The sound of Colombian Spanish fills a hospital treating soldiers wounded fighting Russian forces, according to The Independent. Ukraine's ranks are depleted by two years of war. As it battles Putin's war machine, Ukraine is welcoming hardened fighters from one of the world's longest running conflicts. Professional soldiers from Colombia bolster the ranks of volunteers from around the world who have answered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's call for foreign fighters to join his nation's war with Russia. Colombia's military has been fighting drug trafficking cartels and rebel groups for decades, making its soldiers some of the world's most experienced. With a military of 250,000, Colombia has Latin America's second largest army after Brazils. More than 10,000 retire each year, and hundreds are heading to fight in Ukraine where many make four times as much as experienced. None commissioned officers earn in Colombia or even more. Colombia has a large army with highly trained personnel, but the pay isn't great when you compare it to other militaries, says Andrei Marcias of Bogotá's Externando University, who studies Colombian work for military contractors around the world. Retired Colombian soldiers began to head overseas in the early 2000s to work for U.S. military contractors protecting infrastructure, including oil wells in Iraq. Retired members of Colombia's military have also been hired as trainers in the United Arab Emirates and joined in Yemen's battle against Iran-backed Houthi rebels.