Russia is recruiting Syrian fighters experienced in urban combat as it ramps up its assault on Ukraine, according to U.S. officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday.
Moscow, which launched an invasion into its Eastern European neighbor on Feb. 24, has in recent days recruited fighters from Syria hoping they can help take Kyiv, four U.S. officials told the U.S. daily.
Russia entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime. The country has been mired in a conflict marked by urban combat for more than a decade.
One official told the Journal that some fighters are already in Russia readying to join the fight in Ukraine, though it was not immediately clear how many combatants have been recruited, and the sources would not provide further detail.
Foreign fighters have already entered the Ukrainian conflict on both sides.
Chechnya strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov — a former rebel-turned-Kremlin-ally — has shared videos of Chechen fighters joining the attack on Ukraine and said some had been killed in the fighting.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has claimed around 20,000 foreign volunteers have 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 has seized the port city of Kherson and stepped up its shelling of urban centers across the country.
Russia's assault, now in its 12th day, has seen more than 1.5 million people flee the country in what the UN has called Europe's fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
… we have a small favor to ask.
As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.
Continue
