RUSSIA WANTS TO INVOLVE ASSAD REGIME TROOPS IN UKRAINE WAR: UKRAINIAN MINISTRY

Fri 18 March 2022:

Ukraine said Friday that the Russian army has recruited nearly a thousand mercenaries from Syria.

“The Russian occupiers, which have suffered huge losses during the war, have already recruited mercenaries from the troops under the command of (Syria’s) Bashar al-Assad regime and (Lebanese group) Hezbollah’s so-called army,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.

Earlier on Thursday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed, Russia wants to involve troops from Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime in the war against Ukraine.

“If they freeze, our artillery will warm them,” the ministry said in a statement.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

According to the UN, over 350,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict, but human rights groups estimate the death toll to be between 500,000-600,000.

Over 14 million people had to flee their homes, becoming refugees or internally displaced, according to the European Union.

Zelenskyy calls on mercenaries to refrain from joining Russian military

Ukraine’s president warned mercenaries Thursday who plan to join the Russian army to fight against Ukraine, saying it would be “the worst decision of your life.”

“We have information that the Russian military is recruiting mercenaries from other countries, trying to deceive as many young people as possible into military service,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Telegram.

“So now I warn everyone who will try to join the occupiers on our Ukrainian land. Long life is better than the money you are offered for a short one,” he said.

Zelenskyy also said he will continue his speeches to the parliaments and squares of partner states to stop the war, restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and return to long-awaited peace.

Zelenskyy has addressed the parliaments of Germany, Canada and the UK so far in video calls.

The Russia-Ukraine war, which started on Feb. 24, has drawn international condemnation, led to financial restrictions on Moscow and spurred an exodus of global firms from Russia.

At least 780 civilians have been killed and 1,252 injured in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, according to the UN, while noting that conditions on the ground make it difficult to verify the true number.

More than 3.16 million people have also fled to neighboring countries, said the UN refugee agency.

SOURCE: Anadolu Agency

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