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- Russia recruiting Syrians for Ukraine invasion, US officials say
Russia recruiting Syrians for Ukraine invasion, US officials say
Experts said the move signifies a potential escalation of fighting in the Ukraine-Russia war
Russia is recruiting Syrians skilled in urban combat to join in the invasion of Ukraine as Moscow’s assault is expected to press deeper into cities, according to US officials.
Four US officials were quoted by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) indicating that Russia is enlisting fighters from the Middle Eastern country hoping they can help overcome Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv.
Experts said the move signifies a potential escalation of fighting in the war that Russia triggered on February 24.
Syria has been mired in a civil war marked by urban conflict for more than a decade, and Russia entered the conflict in 2015 in support of President Bashar al-Assad.
One official told WSJ that some Syrian fighters were already in Russia training to join the assault in Ukraine, though it was not clear how many combatants were recruited.
Foreign fighters have already entered the latest global conflict on both sides.
Chechnya strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov - a former rebel-turned-Kremlin-ally - shared videos of Chechen fighters joining the attack on Ukraine and said some have been killed.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba claimed around 20,000 foreign volunteers traveled to the country to join Kyiv's forces.
The capital and the second-largest city Kharkiv are still held by Ukraine's government, while Russia seized the port city of Kherson and stepped up its shelling of urban centers across the country.
Russia's assault, now in its twelfth day, has seen more than 1.5 million people flee the country in what the United Nations called Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.