Russia recruits mercenaries in Syria for war in Ukraine – intelligence

Ukrainian intelligence reports that Russia is recruiting mercenaries in Syria to take part in combat operations on the battlefield.

The training is taking place on Syrian territory near the city of Aleppo and the Kuweires airfield. The first thousand mercenaries are undergoing training on combat operations in urban areas.

After completing the training, the troops will be transported to the Khmeimim air base and to Russia. Upon arrival, they will receive Russian passports and then get enlisted to the ranks of Kremlin forces.

The intelligence shares a video of Syrians receiving Russian passports made in five days.

Moscow recruits Syrians into the army through travel agencies. The newly recruited mercenaries have first promised jobs as security guards at oil refineries in far-east Yakutia and then are lured to "higher-paying jobs" in middle-eastern Buryatia region.

In Ulan-Ude, the certified mercenaries will be mobilized into the 5th Separate Guards Tank Brigade and will take part in hostilities in Ukraine.

"The recruitment of Syrians for the war indicates a deterioration in the moral and psychological state of the Russian forces due to large-scale losses and the need to replenish them for further "meat assaults".

At the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukraine's intelligence reported that weapons, military equipment, and other resources were planned to be transferred from Syria to Russia and Belarus.

The self-proclaimed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has promised to provide Russia with 40,000 militants for the war against Ukraine.