Relatives of Miguel Ortizthe Cantabrian soldier who disappeared in November last year in Ukraine, they leave him for dead and they have organized a funeral in his memory, which will take place on September 27 in the parish of San Miguel de Meruelo. “In the absence of official communication from the authorities, the family has carried out an investigation that has confirmed his death,” said the relatives of the military man, 43, married and father of two children aged 14 and 19.
In different publications on social networks, consulted by Europa Press, they report that Miguel Ortiz, originally from Anero (Ribamontán al Monte) and resident in Meruelo, “lost his life on November 22, 2023 while carrying out a mission to rescue colleagues” while he was fighting in Ukraine as a volunteer.
They point out, however, that The circumstances of this incident remain to be elucidated.and they regret that “until now, both the confirmation of the event and the recovery of the body have been officially impossible.”
The Spanish government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed last February that this Cantabrian soldier who volunteered in Ukraine had “disappeared” and that this disappearance would have taken place. in November.
Attack in Donetsk province
Ortiz, with 18 years of service in the 64th Mountain Hunters Regiment of the Spanish Army, was part of the First Battalion of the Third Company of the International Legion, which fought in Ukraine against the invasion of Russia. According to his comrades in arms, he died in a Russian attack. on the Andriivka front, Donetsk province.
His relatives appreciate the expressions of “affection and respect for Miguel” received since then and announce a mass in his honor, Friday, September 27, at 5 p.m., in the church of San Miguel de Meruelo.
Petitions to Ukraine and Spain
Ortiz’s relatives demanded that the Ukrainian military and the Spanish Foreign Ministry take charge of the disappearance. They will search for the body and they would bring him “home”.
“They know perfectly well where he fell. Let them do what they have to do, let them find a way to do it, to recover the body, wherever it is,” his sister, Beatriz Ortiz, asked, after they had not heard from him for more than three months.
Even then, they considered it “almost impossible” that he had been taken hostage and had practically lost all hope that he was alive, given the time that had passed and because, in that case, they thought he would have contacted them.
No communication since November 2023
THE last communication took place on November 22, 2023when he sent them a video in which he told them he had been sent on a mission to “rescue” missing and apparently wounded soldiers.
Since then, they have not heard from him or his comrades in arms. A few days later, one of the latter contacted relatives to inform them that Miguel had “fallen”, after being found. seriously injured after a Russian drone attack on the Andriivka front in Donetsk province.
And that same night, the embassy would have called the soldier’s wife to inform her that the Cantabrian was “missing”, “in action of war”.
Afghanistan or Mali
Miguel Ortiz had worked in the company of the 64th Mountain Hunters Regiment of the Spanish army, in the barracks of Munguía (Vizcaya) and Jaca (Huesca).
After having participated in various missions, fighting in Afghanistan or Mali, He decided to enlist in the International Legion to fight in Ukrainecountry he visited last October from Lérida (where he took a preliminary course) and which has been at war with Russia for two years.
