War in Ukraine, live: “Don’t even think about advancing one centimeter into NATO territory”, says Joe Biden to Russia – Le Monde

On March 11, our journalist Hélène Sallon wrote: “Syrian mercenaries will be enlisted alongside the Russian army in Ukraine. According to testimonies collected by Syrian observers, the recruitment campaign had already begun in the provinces under the control of President Bashar Al-Assad. The information had been corroborated, Monday, March 7, by the Pentagon. “We believe there is some truth to reports that the Russians are looking for Syrian fighters to bolster their ranks in Ukraine,” spokesman John Kirby said on February 28. Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ) has collected testimonies that confirm an ongoing recruitment campaign in the province of Damascus. “Recruitment is done by private security groups like Wagner and Syrian security services. It is done through the branches of the Ba’ath Party, the National Defense Forces and other local militias. But there is bound to be an order from Russia,” explains Bassam Al-Ahmad, director of STJ. The recruits are, according to him, former soldiers of the Syrian army or former insurgents who were granted amnesty by the regime within the framework of the reconciliation committees, like the members of the 5th Assault Corps of Deraa (South), a local militia made up of former insurgents and supported by the Russians, already present on the Libyan front. of a reconciliation committee that an assistant surgeon in the intelligence branch of the air force in Harasta (Damascus province) drew up a list of combatants ready to leave for Ukraine, on behalf of a Russian private security company. “He told me that they only register fighters with good military experience and that priority goes to people who had previously fought under the command of Russian officers or in the ranks of the 25th division of the Syrian army” , said the Syrian.