Syrians to fight for Russia in Ukraine, Kremlin
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Fighters from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries can fight for Russia in Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday.
Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, told reporters that the Russian Defense Minister said “most of those who want and asked to fight for Russia are citizens of Middle East countries and Syria.”
“The decision to send volunteers to fight in Ukraine was acceptable, claiming that the United States was taking measures to send mercenaries to fight for Ukraine,” Peskov added.
Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced at Putin’s meeting with the permanent members of the country’s Security Council that the ministry received “numerous requests from various volunteers from various countries, who want to come to the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics to participate in <…> the liberation movement.” The Russian head of state believes that it is possible to involve foreign volunteers in the provision of military assistance to Donbass on a gratuitous basis, according to Tass news agency.
Russia said it had no intention of controlling Ukraine, and that its military operation aimed only to disarm and de-Nazify Ukraine, a measure taken 30 years after the United States pressured Russia hard.
Ukraine had announced the creation foreign volunteer contingents to be integrated into its armed forces to fight Russian forces on its territory.
Recently, cross-checked sources have revealed Turkey’s intention to recruit members of the Syrian National Army (SNA) to fight in Ukraine against the Russian forces using ancient labels already used by Turkey in Libya and Azerbaijan.
Russian news outlets reported that Ukrainian commanders on one hand and the Turkish intelligence and leaders of the SNA on the other held meetings to discuss the possibility of enlisting Syrian fighters to Ukraine to fight the Russian forces.
On March 6, The Wall Street Journal reported that “Russia is poised to deploy Syrian fighters with expertise in urban combat.”
“The Russia deployment of foreign fighters from Syria into Ukraine internationalizes the Ukraine war,” Jennifer Cafarella, a national security expert in Washington, D.C., told the Journal, adding “and therefore could link the war in Ukraine to broader cross regional dynamics, particularly in the Middle East.”