There have been almost constant battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces over the last 19 days – battles that have required hundreds of human livesforced over a million people on the run and led to enormous material destruction.
Ukraine has given Russia strong resistance, and hundreds of soldiers from the two countries have lost their lives. On Saturday, Ukrainian authorities claimed that 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers had died, while claiming to have killed as many as 12,000 Russian fighters. Russia, however, believes that less than 500 Russian soldiers have died.
Received war message: Heard no more
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a non-governmental organization aiming to document human rights abuses in the country, now states that more than 40,000 Syrian fighters have signed up to fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine. It writes The Kyiv Independent night to Tuesday.
The information has not yet been confirmed by Russian authorities, and according to the organization, no fighters have left Syria yet.
Russia and Syria have been allies since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, and Putin has been a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
– Can escalate
Already last week, US officials claimed that Russia had begun to recruit Syrian fighters to assist the Russian military in the war.
A US assessment indicates that Russia has in recent days recruited fighters from Syria in the hope that their expertise in urban warfare can help take control of Kyiv and destroy the Ukrainian government, several US officials told The Wall Street Journal.
DeirEzzor24a newspaper in Deir Ezzor province in Syria, also wrote that Russia should have offered volunteers in the country between 200 and 300 dollars to go to Ukraine and work with guards for periods of six months.
– The recruitment could lead to a potential escalation of the fighting in Ukraine, says one of the sources to the WSJ.
Stormy broadcast with “No War” sign
Warning
In recent weeks, several foreign soldiers have also enlisted in the service to fight on Ukraine’s side. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba estimated last week that as many as 20,000 people, from 52 different countries, have enlisted in the “International Legion for the Territorial Defense of Ukraine”.
Despite the fact that Russia is now recruiting Syrian fighters, a spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, Igor Konashenkov, previously issued a strong warning to what he referred to as “mercenaries” for Ukraine.
