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Russia Announces It Is Recruiting Fighters From Syria to Serve in Ukraine – Opinion

By Pluralist / March 11, 2022

According to an “exclusive” run by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Russia is actively recruiting Syrian fighters for duty in Ukraine.

Four American officials claim that Russia, which is operating in Syria from 2015 has recently been recruiting fighters. They hope their urban combat expertise can be used to take Kyiv, and deal a serious blow to the Ukrainian government. Experts say the action points to an increase in fighting in Ukraine.

One official said that although it’s not known how many of the fighters have been identified so far, there are some who may already be in Russia and ready to join the conflict.

Officials refused to provide further information about what other details were known regarding the deployment of Syrian fighters into Ukraine or the exact scale and status of this effort.

According to a publication based in Deir Ezzor, Syria, Russia has offered volunteers from the country between $200 and $300 “to go to Ukraine and operate as guards” for six months at a time.

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Syrian fighters have spent nearly a decade fighting urban warfare, while Russia’s largely conscripted force lacks this skill set. Ms. Cafarella stated that the support role for Syrian forces in Ukraine might also be offered. This is based on their work with the Wagner Group, which some view as an intermediary to the Russian government.

In ordinary times, one would be inclined to file this under “cool story, bruh” and move on. None of the indigenous forces operating in Syria, be they troops loyal to Assad or the various militias, have given off a vibe that says “elite military unit.” On the contrary, they look like crap, and none of their operations is something a respectable military would emulate. The whole “experience” argument is nonsense. You show me a man who has spent a decade in actual combat, and I’ll show you a guy who twitches a lot and pees on himself if someone pops a beer can. Add to this the fact Russian language differences make it nearly impossible for the Syrians to communicate with Russian Army troops. Then, the Syrians will be exposed to Ukrainian terrains and weather simultaneously. This story was subsequently rewritten, proving that it wasn’t true in the first instance.

It looks real. Russian state television shows this video.

The reality of the recruiting effort has been confirmed by Vladimir Putin’s sockpuppet, Dmitry Peskov, and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

According to Friday’s Kremlin announcement, fighters from Syria or the Middle East will be allowed to support Russia in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin supported a plan for sending volunteers there.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia’s defence minister had said that “most of those who want and who asked (to fight) are citizens of Middle East countries and Syrians”.

Russia was a key partner to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad when war broke out, rallying to his side in the conflict in 2015 and turning the tide of the fighting in the regime’s favour.

Peskov said the decision to send volunteer fighters to Ukraine was acceptable, claiming that the United States was backing measures to send mercenaries to fight alongside Kyiv’s army in Ukraine.

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“If the West is so enthusiastic about the arrival of mercenaries, then we also have volunteers who want to participate,” Peskov told journalists.

Putin backed plans to allow volunteers — including from abroad — to fight in Ukraine earlier Friday and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said more than 16,000 mostly Middle Eastern volunteer had appealed to join the military action.

(Luttwak is a strategist I’ve had a love/hate relationship with for decades, not a Twitter rando despite the lack of a blue checkmark.)

Two possibilities can explain the situation.

First, Putin may be trying to use public relations to respond to large numbers of soldiers from actual armies with real experience, who are heading to Ukraine. While the Russians call them “mercenaries,” the foreign volunteers are supposed to be integrated into the Ukrainian territorial defense forces. Ukraine has signed an arrangement that appears to legalize the exclusion of foreign volunteers being charged with being mercenaries. International Convention against the Training, Use, Financing, and Recruitment of MercenariesRussia was not involved, therefore it’s difficult to discern their grievances. Russia doesn’t want it to look like Ukraine, alone, has international backing.

There is another possibility that the Syrian army is in desperate need of cannon fodder. Sorry, but I meant fighters. Russia reported 2,600 deaths in the conflict’s first week. This includes approximately 500 casualties and 2100 injured (see Russia releases the official casualty count from its Ukraine adventure). Russia is unlikely to have lost any fewer soldiers this week. They have not disclosed how many soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. It is estimated that there are 2,000 people who have died in the conflict. Another 7,000 people were also injured. Also, we know Russia has admitted that conscripts were added to Ukraine’s military forces. Three days ago Putin had publicly said that no conscripts would be employed. Putin would be able to save several thousand Syrians from being forced into front lines by bringing additional Russia-based units into Ukraine. For a brief time at least.

 

 

 

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