Explosive US information: Russia apparently wants to recruit Syrian fighters for the Ukraine war

Created: 07/03/2022, 21:49

By: Andreas Schmid

Syrian soldiers ride a tank on the Damascus-Aleppo highway.

Will you soon be heading to Ukraine?

(Archive image) © picture alliance/dpa/XinHua

Russia wants to attack Ukraine more often in the cities.

There is apparently help from fighters from Syria.

It is questionable whether this strategy will work.

Moscow – Russia apparently also wants to rely on external support in the escalated Ukraine conflict* – and win Syrians for the war.

That's what the US Department of Defense says.

Ukraine war: US information - "Russia tries to recruit Syrians for the fight"

A senior ministry worker told US journalists on Monday: "We can confirm reports that the Russians are trying to supplement their fighters with foreign fighters." Syrian men are given priority.

"We know that they are trying to recruit Syrians for the fight." They did not want to answer whether there were already Syrian soldiers in Ukraine.

Syrian media

reported last week that Russia was offering $200-$300 to Syrian soldiers willing to go to Ukraine for six months to "work as guards."

There are also rumors that Chechen fighters are also to be included in the Russian military.

After the two Chechen wars, they are considered particularly unscrupulous*.

The US Department official said it was "remarkable" that Russian President Vladimir Putin* believed he was dependent on foreign fighters.

The US government currently assumes that Putin now has almost 100 percent of his combat troops assembled at the border deployed in Ukraine.

However, Russian troops have made little progress recently.

"The Ukrainians are putting up strong resistance," said the United States.

Russia's strategy in the Ukraine conflict: Syrian fighters for war in the cities?

According to current reports, Russia now wants to focus more on the big cities.

Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv, Mariupol - and Kyiv.

Recently, however, there have been several experts who see Russia at a disadvantage in the cities.

Russian troops are less able to cope in densely built-up urban areas, said Viennese military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady. 

Syrian fighters, on the other hand, would be familiar with these conditions from their own country.

They have experience in house warfare and could therefore assist the Russian troops in taking Kiev.

However, Syria expert Charles Lister from the Institute for the Middle East in Washington doubts that Syrians would really help Russian troops.

"Bringing Syrians to Ukraine is like sending Martians to fight on the moon," Lister told the

.

"They don't speak the language, the environment is completely different."

Ukraine war: Russia and Syria - a close relationship

Russia and Syria are close allies.

Russian troops have been actively involved in the Syrian war since 2015.

Syrian fighters have ties to the ruthless Russian mercenary group Gruppe Wagner*.

Putin is also one of the most important supporters of the Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad.

Close confidants: Vladimir Putin with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

© Alexei Druzhinin/picture alliance/dpa/Pool Sputnik Kremlin (archive photo)

Incidentally, Ukraine also relies on foreign soldiers.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba recently claimed that around 20,000 foreign volunteers have entered the country to join the Ukrainian armed forces.

But if Russia were to rely on Syrian support, that would bring new dynamics to the Ukraine war, says Jennifer Cafarella from the Institute for the Study of War in Washington.

"This internationalizes the Ukraine war and could tie it to broader supra-regional dynamics, particularly in the Middle East."

All information on the Ukraine conflict* can be found in the news ticker on the negotiations in the Ukraine war and on the military situation in the Ukraine war.