The Pentagon accuses Moscow of recruiting Syrians to fight in Ukraine

Yesterday, the Pentagon accused Russia of recruiting Syrians and other foreigners to fight in Ukraine, where the Russian army's invasion of that country faces fierce resistance.

In New York, the United Nations and China expressed concern about bringing in more fighters to Ukraine, but without either of them directly criticizing Russia.

Moscow has been involved in the Syrian conflict since 2015 alongside the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, and the country has been witnessing urban fighting for more than a decade.

"We believe the information that they (the Russians) are recruiting Syrian fighters to reinforce their forces in Ukraine is correct," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

"It is interesting that Putin has to use foreign fighters," he added, after he deployed in Ukraine nearly 100 percent of the forces that he has amassed in recent months on the country's borders in preparation for his invasion, according to Pentagon estimates.

According to these estimates, Russia has amassed more than 150,000 soldiers on its border with Ukraine.

In response to a question about reports of Russia recruiting Syrian fighters to fight in Ukraine, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during his daily press conference that he was unable to confirm the veracity of this information.

But the UN spokesperson stressed that "this conflict does not need more people to come from abroad to get involved in it."

During a meeting of the UN Security Council, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jun reiterated the call not to add fuel to the fire in the conflict in Ukraine between Russian forces and the Ukrainian army.

Since Russian forces began invading Ukraine, the Chinese position has tended to support Moscow.

Referring to Western sanctions against Moscow, Chang warned that "sending mercenaries or offensive weapons to Ukraine could make the situation worse."

Media reports confirm that the Russian paramilitary company Wagner sent fighters to Ukraine to support the Russian army.

Mercenaries of this private Russian company had fought in recent years in Libya.

Also, both warring camps in Libya brought in Syrian mercenaries to fight in their ranks.

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