Alcala, Pangasinan, Philippines – A Filipino man from Alcala, Pangasinan, who allegedly fought for Russia, is now a prisoner of war in Ukraine.
According to a report on “24 Oras,” a video of Raymon Santos Gumangan was posted on the “I Want to Live” Facebook page, a Ukrainian government project, on December 8. Gumangan was reportedly recruited by Russians for a high-paying job in their country.
In the video, Gumangan said he was recruited for a logistics role but was assigned a different job upon arriving in Russia. In 2024, he signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, becoming a shooter in the 51st Parachute Regiment. In September of that year, Gumangan was allegedly involved in attacks in the Sumy region of Ukraine, where he was later captured.
Gumangan’s family received a message from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about his capture. Gumangan’s family said he formerly worked in a security agency in the Philippines and applied for work online as logistics personnel. The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Gumangan is not in their database and is coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to find out how he left the country and how he can be repatriated to the Philippines. Last week, Ukraine’s military intelligence reported that a Filipino mercenary was killed in a clash between Russia and Ukraine.
metrosundaily
