Syrian militants recruited by Moscow to take Kyiv, US says

Syrian fighters, experts in urban combat, would have been recruited by Russia to take part in the invasion of Ukraine, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Russia will recruit Syrian fighters to participate in the invasion of Ukraine and the capture of its capital Kyiv. Anyway, four US officials told the Wall Street Journal. According to the national daily newspaper, Russia is interested in the Syrians because of their experience of fighting in cities or in urbanized places.

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Last week, the Syrian news agency Deir ez-Zor 24 reported that Russia was offering Syrians $200 to $300 for mercenaries willing to go to Ukraine for six months to “work as security guards.” In particular, contracts would be signed with the Syrians who fought in Libya.

However, it is not specified how many Syrian militants have been recruited and some of them have already been transferred to Ukraine. Some of them are already training in Russia, according to a Wall Street Journal spokesperson. The White House has not commented on this information.

In 2015, Vladimir Putin launched a military intervention alongside the Syrian army to root out any form of moderate opposition to Damascus authorities. Today, faced with the brutality of the Russian offensive, many Syrians express their solidarity with the Ukrainians and accuse Moscow of turning their country into a laboratory for testing its military arsenal.

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