Russia needs help in conquering Kiev: Recruits Syrian fighters, some to be ready – New Time

Moscow, which launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24, has recruited Syrian fighters in recent days in hopes of helping to conquer Kiev, four U.S. officials told the daily, according to AFP.

Russia entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. The country has been struggling for more than a decade in a conflict marked by urban struggles.

One source said that some fighters in Russia were already ready to join the fight in Ukraine, although it was not immediately clear how many fighters had been recruited so far. Further details were not provided by US officials.

Foreign fighters on both sides have already entered the Ukrainian conflict, the AFP notes.

Chechen-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has released videos of Chechen fighters joining the attack and Ukraine, confirming that some have been killed in the fighting. Chechnya is an autonomous republic of the Russian Federation in the North Caucasus.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again announced that about 20,000 foreign volunteers had arrived in the country to join the fight against Russia.

After Russia took control of the southern Ukrainian port city of Kherson and intensified shelling of cities throughout Ukraine, both the metropolis of Kiev and the second largest city in Kharkov in the east threatened to be surrounded.