Sergio Antolín Zunzunegui, the Spanish Soldier Who Deserted to Join the Fight in Ukraine

In Los Corrales de Buelna, a small town in Cantabria, residents vividly remember the Antolín Zunzunegui brothers: Iván, the elder, and Sergio, the younger, separated by just a year. Both were good athletes and had a strong military vocation. Although they had not been seen in the town of just over 10,000 inhabitants for some time, Sergio’s name has been on everyone’s lips recently after his death on the Ukrainian front was confirmed, during the war triggered by Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022.

Sources from the Ministry of Defense confirmed his death in combat, bringing an end to the mystery surrounding his whereabouts. Sergio Antolín Zunzunegui had been officially declared missing in December 2023 and was considered a deserter after failing to report to the Tercio de Armada Marine Brigade in San Fernando (Cádiz), where he had been stationed.

Sergio joined the army in 2022, shortly after enlisting and signing a three-year contract that committed him until 2025. His first posting was at the Tercio de Armada Marine barracks in San Fernando, where, according to military sources, he served as a marine without any issues or notable incidents in his record. However, in September 2023, he requested a three-month leave for “personal matters,” stating that he needed a break.

He was due to return in December but failed to do so. After 72 hours of absence, his superiors formally declared him as not reported and referred the case to judicial authorities, with the Guardia Civil taking charge of the investigation. From that point on, there was no trace of Sergio, who seemed to have vanished completely.

Even his mother, Elvira Zunzunegui, turned to the media in an effort to find him. Over a year after moving to Potes due to health issues, having left Los Corrales, she revealed in an interview that she had not had contact with her son for two years. It was Sergio’s captain who informed her of his disappearance after he failed to show up at Christmas in San Fernando. She was also told that her son had been in Poland and Ukraine.

The judicial investigation confirmed that Sergio had voluntarily relocated to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces, most likely joining a battalion of foreign volunteers supporting the Ukrainian army.

Before disappearing, Sergio shut down all his social media accounts and severed contact with his family, friends, and acquaintances, as his mother shared.

In Los Corrales, both Sergio and his brother Iván left their mark at the local athletics club, where they trained between 2013 and 2015. “They were good, dedicated, and very athletic,” recalls Daniel Salmones, a delegate of the Club Atlético Corrales Maderas Peña Lastra. At the time, both were around eleven or twelve years old, and although they didn’t show any interest in the military back then, they later chose military careers instead of continuing their studies. Sergio enlisted at the age of 20 and would have turned 22 this coming July. His brother Iván is just a year older.