War in Ukraine: Syrian fighters for Russia?

According to the Kremlin, tens of thousands of volunteers from the Middle East want to reinforce Russia in the war against Ukraine. Social networks murmur about Syrian fighters – but their use cannot be proven. What is known?

In order to scare Russia’s enemies, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu staged a briefing in front of the cameras in the classic manner in mid-March: 16,000 volunteer fighters in the Middle East had volunteered to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine, Shoygu said . To which Putin spontaneously replied: “If we see that these volunteers want to help our people in Donbass without asking for money, then we should also support them in getting to the combat zone.”

Shortly thereafter, the Russian Defense Ministry shared videos of enthusiastic Syrian fighters waving banners with the Z sign – the Russian symbol “for victory”.

Since then, news channels, Middle East and security experts around the world have been outdoing each other in speculation as to whether 16,000, 22,000 or even 40,000 Syrian fighters are on their way to the Ukrainian war zone. The only difficulty is that so far not a single case has been documented.

Fake report with Syrian officer

On March 19, there seemed to be a first concrete indication: A post that went viral on social networks in the Middle East: “Syrian blood mixes with Russian blood,” it said – the martyr and hero Mudar Abdul Aziz was on fallen to the side of his Russian comrades in Donbass. There is also a picture of a Syrian fighter in a patch uniform.

A little later it turned out that the person allegedly killed in Donbass was an officer who died in 2015 in the Syrian province of Idlib – a clear case of war propaganda.

The only question is: what does it want to achieve? Should it unsettle the enemy or counteract the “International Legion” in Ukraine? 16,000 volunteers had come from abroad to help, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in a video message on March 3. It was probably no coincidence that Putin gave the same number on March 14.

Russian army present in Syria since 2015

Despite all the skepticism, it is quite possible that Putin will get Syrian support for his war in Ukraine: In October 2015, Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war and saved the reeling Assad regime from falling with fighter jets, rockets and cluster bombs. At the same time, Moscow was back on the world stage with imperial claims.

Syria, say many Middle East experts today, was the dress rehearsal for the war of aggression in Ukraine. There is an inner connection between the two conflicts. Damascus is also aware of this: “We stand firmly by Russia,” said Ayman Sousan, Syria’s deputy foreign minister, at a press conference in front of journalists loyal to the regime defeat in Syria.

The Russian army is still present in Syria, with warships in the port of Tartus, fighter jets at the Hmeimim air base and officers on the ground. In coordination with the Syrian army, they are primarily recruiting mercenaries from Shiite militias, according to opposition internet forums.

“We’re hearing from different sources that many are now being recruited and are being trained in Syria before they go to Ukraine. Most are members of militias loyal to the regime,” says Syrian analyst Bassel Karadol, who lives in exile. “What’s interesting is that Putin says: We won’t give you any money. But apparently the Russians are offering that the fighters should have permanent residence in the Donetsk region after the war. But I think money is also involved.”

The Pentagon has no answers either

A decade of civil war has devastated Syrian cities in large parts, millions of people are impoverished, in the end, without income and without work. War, whether raging in Europe or Africa, is a real option for Syrian militiamen. It is said that they could earn up to 700 US dollars a month in Ukraine if they survive – and if they actually exist at all.

In the loops of international news channels, military experts have been speculating for days about whether recruited Syrians in Ukraine are more suitable for house-to-house fighting than the Russian military. Whether they are more experienced and their use might reduce the high loss rate of the Russians.

“Actually, I can’t say much about Russian efforts to recruit Syrian fighters,” said US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby recently. “There might be something to that… But how much are they getting? What are they paying? And I don’t want to speculate as to why Mr. Putin should need to seek help from Syrian fighters.”