Commanders Say Some Syrian Veterans Are Ready To Fight In Ukraine

Commander says some Syrian militants are committed to ‘righteous war’
According to Abdallah, there are no instructions yet to go to Ukraine
Syria is Russia’s closest ally in the Middle East
According to Ukrainian intelligence, 150 Syrians arrived on March 15.
Paramilitaries have received combat skills in the Syrian conflict

AMMAN/BEIRUT, March 20 – Some Syrian paramilitary fighters say they are ready to go to Ukraine to fight in support of their ally Russia, but have not yet received instructions to go there, two of their commanders told Reuters.

Nabil Abdallah, commander of the paramilitary National Defense Forces (NDF), said he was ready to use the experience of urban warfare gained during the war in Syria to help Russia, in a telephone conversation with Reuters from the Syrian city of Suqaylabiya.

“As soon as we receive instructions from the Syrian and Russian leadership, we will wage this righteous war,” Abdallah said on March 14, four days after President Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead for the deployment of 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East in Ukraine. More

“We are not afraid of this war and are ready for it as soon as the order comes to go and join. We will show them something they have never seen… We will fight street wars and (apply) the tactics we have acquired in our battles that have defeated the terrorists in Syria,” he added.

The Kremlin passed Reuters requests for comment to the Russian Defense Ministry. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment on whether Russia intended to issue instructions for the deployment of NDF fighters and whether any NDF fighters were recruited.

Reuters received no response to questions sent to the Syrian Ministry of Information and the army through the Ministry of Information about whether Syria intended to issue instructions for the deployment of NDF fighters and whether any NDF fighters had been recruited.

Syria is Russia’s closest ally in the Middle East, and Moscow’s intervention in the Syrian war in 2015 proved decisive as it helped President Bashar al-Assad defeat enclaved rebel forces across much of the country.

The NDF emerged from pro-Assad militias at the start of the Syrian war and participated in offensive operations that took over some rebel-held enclaves with Russian air support.

Now largely demobilized, the NDF numbers in the tens of thousands, Syria experts say, potentially a large pool of recruits for Russia if the war in Ukraine drags on.

“FAIR WAR”

A second NDF commander, Simon Walkil from the nearby town of Mharda, also told Reuters that “a lot of our people want to sign up to join our Russian brothers (and) allies, but we haven’t received any direction from the leadership.”

“We are auxiliary forces that fought alongside the army and our Russian allies. We have defeated the terrorists who started the war in Syria,” added Wakeel, a Russian decorated and whose Facebook page contains images of church meetings, men in the armed forces. fatigue and Assad.

On March 11, Putin told a meeting of the Russian Security Council that if people from the Middle East want to come to Ukraine of their own free will, and not for money, then Russia should help them “get to the conflict zone.” More

Putin’s announcement came after Ukraine announced on March 3 that more than 16,000 foreigners had volunteered to fight on its side against Russia. Ukraine has created an “international legion” for immigrants from abroad. More

In Washington, U.S. Marine General Frank Mackenzie, head of Central Command, which oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East, told a March 15 Senate hearing that the number of Syrians trying to make their way to Ukraine appears to be “a trickle.”

“We think that there are probably small, small – very small – groups of people from Syria trying to get into Ukraine,” he said. “Now it’s a very small trickle.”

Two senior regional officials with close ties to the Syrian government and three sources close to the Syrian army told Reuters that Russia is seeking to recruit Syrians with combat experience for Ukraine.

The effort is being conducted from the Russian Khmeymein air base in the Syrian province of Latakia, they said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to questions from Reuters about whether the reports from sources are correct, who conducted the recruitment and how it is progressing. The Syrian Ministry of Information did not respond to a Reuters request for an assessment by the government of the Russian recruitment campaign.

Ukrainian military intelligence said 150 mercenaries were sent from Russia’s Khmeymein air base in Syria to Russia on March 15 to take part in hostilities against Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate said in response to questions from Reuters.

It says that more than 30 militants returned to Khmeymeyn from Russia “after being wounded in battles with Ukrainian defenders.”

Ukrainian military intelligence reported that the recruits were promised to use them strictly in a police role to maintain order in the occupied territories, but recently information has begun to circulate among mercenaries about direct participation in hostilities against the Ukrainian army.

The Russian Defense Ministry and the Syrian Ministry of Information did not comment on the Ukrainian intelligence report.

“THE WORST SOLUTION”

In a video released on March 11, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had “information that Russian forces are moving mercenaries from various countries,” warning “anyone who tries to join forces with the occupiers on our Ukrainian lands will be the worst.” decision of your life.

Senior regional officials said the average recruit’s salary is around $1,000 a month, about 30 times more than a Syrian soldier’s salary. Experienced fighters could receive $2,000.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based organization that reports on Syria using sources from all sides of the conflict, said a monthly salary of 1,000 euros is being offered, as well as compensation of 7,000 euros for the wounded and 15,000 euros paid to the wounded. families of fallen militants. For information, he refers to Syrian military sources.

According to him, no agreements were signed.

Asked by Reuters about reports that money was being offered or paid for a trip to Ukraine, NDF commander Vakil denied it and said “we are volunteers in a righteous cause.”

Reuters was unable to independently verify compensation information provided by the Observatory and regional authorities.

At a meeting of the Russian Security Council on March 11, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that volunteers from the Middle East were ready to fight for Russian-backed forces in the breakaway Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

“We know many of them – they helped in the fight against (the Islamic State) at the most difficult time, over the past 10 years,” Shoigu said, clearly referring to the conflict in Syria.

Reporting by Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Laila Bassam and Tom Perry in Beirut, Phil Stewart and Idris Ali in Washington, Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Trevelyan in London, Natalia Zinets in Lvov and Ron Popeska; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by William McLean

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