A foreigner is arrested in Moscow on charges of mercenarism. His namesake served in the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Reyes S.A.D.H. has been in custody on charges of participating as a mercenary (Article 359, Part 3 of the Russian Criminal Code) since at least March 2026. Court records include an entry regarding the extension of his detention; the filing was registered on March 20, and the judge granted the motion five days later.

In the meantime, on 30 December 2025, the Solntsevsky District Court placed an individual named Reyes Sanchez Andony De Jesus under administrative arrest for petty hooliganism. According to the court order, Reyes had been detained the previous day at Vnukovo Airport.

The administrative case file states that the foreign national “behaved aggressively, flailed his arms, shouted loudly, and ignored repeated remarks from other people, thereby disturbing public order and the peace of citizens, and causing them indignation.” Law enforcement officers noted that while Reyes’s appearance was “neat,” he had an “unsteady gait,” smelled of alcohol, and failed to comply with requests to calm down. As he was being escorted to the police station, he resisted, obstructed the detention process, and shouted loudly.

An interpreter was present during the hearing. According to the court order, Reyes admitted his guilt but declined to provide further explanation. He was sentenced to 15 days of administrative detention.

On January 14, at 3:00 a.m., Reyes was detained once again. According to a ruling by the Dorogomilovsky District Court of Moscow, he had been using obscene language in a public place, flailing his arms, and harassing other people. The location of the offense is not specified in the court order. This time, the document states, Reyes did not admit guilt and maintained that he had committed no offense. He was once again sentenced to 15 days of detention under the same provision regarding petty hooliganism.

None of the court orders specify Reyes’s citizenship. The Dorogomilovsky Court merely noted that he is unmarried, unemployed, and has no children.

Mediazona discovered a Facebook profile belonging to a native of Nicaragua with the same name—Andony De Jesus—which also includes the surname “Reyes” in its URL.

The owner of this account stated that he lives in Kyiv and serves in the International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine. His photo albums contain images of a young man holding weapons. In September 2025, Reyes posted an image of his Ukrainian Armed Forces combatant identification card, issued to “Reyes Sanchez Andony De Jesus.”

On 19 December 2025, ten days before his detention at Vnukovo Airport, a photograph of Reyes standing near a mosque in Ankara appeared on the account. Meanwhile, in March, while Reyes was already serving an administrative detention sentence, the profile picture and cover photo on the Facebook account were changed to an image of a different man in military camouflage—possibly another member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Throughout 2026, posts unrelated to the war began appearing on Reyes’s Facebook page—a departure from his previous content, which had consistently focused on events in Ukraine. The account did not respond to a message from Mediazona.

The Moscow City Court also failed to respond to an inquiry from our correspondent. Mediazona attempted to reach out to some of Reyes’s Facebook friends but has yet to receive a response. Reyes does not appear in the Russian Interior Ministry’s database of wanted individuals.