President Vladimir Putin on Friday agreed to bring in foreign fighters to fight in the war in Ukraine. According to the Minister of Defense, 16,000 volunteers from the Middle East have signed up.
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Earlier this week, sources in the US Department of Defense reported that the Russians are recruiting volunteer fighters from Syria, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Defense Minister Sergei Shojgu la, according to a report on Kremlin websites, put forward a proposal to use volunteer, foreign soldiers in the Donbass area in the east.
– We receive an enormous number of applications from all kinds of volunteers from different countries. The largest number are from the countries of the Middle East – already more than 16,000. We think it is right to respond positively, especially because these are not looking for money, but it is their real desire. They helped in the fight against IS, says Sjojgu.
In 2015, Russia entered military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his regime, which was at the forefront of the war against a number of rebel groups. The Russian support quickly led to the regime gaining a military advantage and eventually recapturing most of the rebel-held areas.
President Putin blessed the proposal of the Minister of Defense – and justified it by the fact that foreigners are fighting on the Ukrainian side:
– The Western sponsors of the Ukrainian regime do not hide it, they do it openly, and ignore all the norms of international law. So if there are people who want to come and help in the Donbass, then we must meet them and transport them to the war zone.
These include soldiers who have been fighting on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria for several years. The hope is that the experience of urban warfare can give them an advantage over the Ukrainian government forces, the US sources told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week.
On the Ukrainian side, an international legion has been established. It is unclear how many are in it. Last weekend, VG met one of the soldiers who was on his way there.
Putin also says yes to a proposal from the defense minister to transport weapons that the Russian army has taken from the Ukrainians, to precisely the “people’s republics” in Donbass.
– Of course I support it. Doing so was Putin’s call to his defense minister.
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