It is a story of voids, uncertainties and silences. That of Angelo Costanza, an Italian-Belgian citizen originally from Favara and living in Liège, who disappeared inUkraine in the autumn of 2024, at the age of 42, after joining the fighting forces in Kyiv.

Carolina Di Rosa, Angelo’s mother, whom we interviewed for L’Europeista, sent us a journalistic enquiry produced by Radio-Télévision Belge de la Communauté Française (RTBF), in which some of the darkest stages of his journey are retraced. According to reports, Angelo left with the determination to fight despite having no military experience. When he arrived in Kyiv, according to the RTBF investigation sent to us by his mother, he crossed the path of Thomas Oswald Kuhn, known as ‘Di Caprio’, a well-known figure in the milieu of foreign volunteers.

The International Legion and the informal network

Rejected several times by the International Legion for failing physical tests, Angelo allegedly joined an informal recruitment network that operated from a hotel in the Ukrainian capital, often used for enlisting Latin American volunteers.

According to the reconstruction reported in the investigation, Angelo would eventually find a place in Brigade 60, a unit with a strong presence of Colombian volunteers, and would leave with them on 31 October 2024 for the village of Terny, in the Donbass, the scene of some of the most violent fighting of the autumn.

There has been no news of him since then.
His name appears among the missing.
His body has not been found.
His family is still waiting for answers.

The following interview is the vivid and painful account of a mother who only asks for the truth.

Who was Angelo

Davide Cucciati: Let’s start with him, with Angelo. What kind of person was your son? How would you describe him to someone who never knew him? What values moved him, what dreams did he have as a boy, what kind of father was he?

Carolina Di Rosa: Very kind, very good. He had married a girl from Charleroi: eight years of marriage, not always easy. They had a daughter. Angelo always tried to do the best for everyone but suffered a lot during the marriage and after the separation.

Davide Cucciati: When and why did you move to Belgium? What kind of life did you lead there?

Carolina Di Rosa: When we moved permanently to Belgium, Angelo was five years old. He grew up there, he became big in Belgium. Everyone loved him, he made everyone love him.

The decision to leave for Ukraine

Davide Cucciati: Before you decided to go to Ukraine, had you ever had similar experiences? Had you already been part of armed forces, humanitarian missions, or had you had contacts with the Ukrainian world?

Carolina Di Rosa: No, never. Nothing like that.

Davide Cucciati: When he told you he wanted to leave for Ukraine, how did you react? Did you tell him straight away, or did you find out later? Did you try to dissuade him?

Carolina Di Rosa: He went to Ukraine in July 2024. We tried to dissuade him. Even a Ukrainian girl had told him not to go, saying ‘this is not your war’. But he was determined, even though he was not well: he had health problems.

Davide Cucciati: In your opinion, what was his deep motivation? What prompted him to leave?

Carolina Di Rosa: He said he did it for the Ukrainian children. He was very shaken by what he saw on social media while he was living in our house after the separation. He had his job. He didn’t need money.

Departure and last contacts

Davide Cucciati: When was the last time you heard from him directly?

Carolina Di Rosa: In July 2024, he arrived in Kyiv with a friend for a week. Then that friend came back, but we do not know exactly what he did. Maybe he was a recruiter.

He had received no training and was still ill. But on the evening of 29 October he told us that he was leaving for the front line. I did not want to believe it. Then, on 2 November 2024, another person, maybe the recruiter, contacted us: he said they didn’t know what had happened and that Angelo ‘stayed on the ground’. They speak of death, but there are no certainties. Some witnesses say he was shot in the leg. They say he is missing. By all accounts, many soldiers were killed and escaped following a Russian drone attack in late October/early November 2024.

Investigation and silence

Davide Cucciati: Since then, have you received other communications? Has anyone really helped you?

Carolina Di Rosa: The Belgian authorities even went to Ukraine at first. But the police there are no longer interested: they do nothing. They consider Angelo a mercenary. The Ukrainians say nothing. There was talk of a certain Sergeant Ortiz, Colombian… they said he enlisted volunteers. But nothing is clear.
Italy did some investigations, but in the end they told us that nothing can be done. That he could not be found.

Between imprisonment and hope

Davide Cucciati: There has been talk of the possibility that he was killed… but also of imprisonment. Today, what do you think?

Carolina Di Rosa: We know nothing. No one has ever given us proof. There are no certainties on either side.

Davide Cucciati: Did you keep any material evidence? Tickets, voice mails, photos in uniform, co-ordinates?

Carolina Di Rosa: No, nothing. He left of his own accord, leaving nothing behind.

Davide Cucciati: What image do you want to remain of Angelo?

Carolina Di Rosa: He was a very good person. Everyone said so. He was not violent. He was good, he did everything to help others.

Initiatives and appeals

Davide Cucciati: Are you thinking of other initiatives to continue looking for him? Have you been in contact with the Red Cross or other NGOs?

Carolina Di Rosa: Antonino ‘s (Antonio Omar Dridi ed.) family called the Red Cross. I don’t speak English, so it’s more difficult for me.

Davide Cucciati: Finally, is there anything I haven’t asked you that you feel the need to say?

Carolina Di Rosa: Look it up. Please. I also wrote to the Ukrainian ambassador but he replied that I cannot receive news because I am not his wife.