The Wall Street Journal quoted US officials as saying that Russia is recruiting skilled Syrian urban fighters for its war on Ukraine, as it prepares to expand its reach.
And the newspaper said - in an exclusive report - that a recent assessment conducted by specialized agencies in the United States indicates that Russia, which has intervened in Syria in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since 2015, has in recent days recruited fighters from there, hoping that their combat experience will help urban areas. In controlling Kyiv and dealing a devastating blow to the Ukrainian government, according to information provided by 4 US officials whose names the newspaper did not reveal.
Experts believe that the move indicates a possible escalation of the fighting in Ukraine.
There is no information about the number of Syrian fighters recruited by Moscow, but the information indicates that some of them are already in Russia and are preparing to participate in the war, according to one of the aforementioned American officials.
US officials refused to give details about the information obtained about the status and number of Syrian fighters that Moscow is seeking to deploy in Ukraine.
And the Wall Street Journal said - according to a local newspaper in Deir ez-Zor, Syria - that Russia offered Syrian volunteers wages ranging between 200 and 300 dollars "to go to Ukraine and work as a guard" for a period of 6 months.
The newspaper report indicated that Russia has deployed Chechen forces in Ukraine, according to a Reuters report, citing Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.