Over the past two weeks Ukrainian officials have been calling for the formation of an ‘international legion’ of mercenaries
The Foreign Intelligence Service of Russia (SVR RF) warned on 4 March that the US, along with NATO countries, are sending ISIS fighters from Syria to Ukraine.
The ISIS members who are reportedly headed to Ukraine underwent special training at the US army’s Al Tanf military base in Syria.
SVR additionally stated that similar extremist groups are being recruited throughout West Asia and North Africa. The militants will allegedly arrive into Ukraine through Poland.
The statement of SVR detailed the history of the secret operation they have uncovered, saying in a statement: “At the end of 2021, the Americans released from prisons… several dozen Daesh terrorists, including citizens of Russia and CIS countries. These individuals were sent to the US-controlled Al Tanf base, where they have undergone special training in subversive and terrorist warfare methods with a focus on the Donbass region.”
The US claims that the illegal presence of their troops in northeast Syria is to protect the country’s vast oilfields from falling under the control of ISIS. Neither Moscow nor Damascus believe this official explanation, with the latter accusing the US of using it as an excuse to steal Syrian oil.
However, ISIS fighters are not the only foreign militants to be recruited to join the fight against Russia in Ukraine.
According to Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, private military contractors have poured into Ukraine from around the world.
“US military intelligence has launched a large-scale propaganda campaign to recruit PMC [private military company] contractors to be sent to Ukraine. First of all, employees of the American PMCs Academi, Cubic, and Dyn Corporation are being recruited. […] Only last week, about 200 mercenaries from Croatia arrived through Poland, who joined one of the nationalist battalions in the southeast of Ukraine.”
Both Iraq and Syria have accused the US of supporting and transferring ISIS fighters within the region.
On 29 January 2022 The Cradle reported that US forces transferred dozens of ISIS detainees, including high-ranking commanders, to Deir Ezzor governorate, which is close to the Iraqi border. This was reportedly an attempt to “revive ISIS” for the purposes of destabilizing a region that had recently been liberated by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) with the help of Russian troops.
Last August similar reports surfaced after a high-ranking officer from Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) reported that their thermal cameras detected US military helicopters transferring ISIS fighters to different locations around the country.
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February after responding to the call for assistance by newly-recognized republics of Donbass and Lugansk.
Despite the recognition of their independence by Russia, Ukrainian armed forces continued to shell civilian targets and breach the borders of the two republics, prompting the leaders of the republics to formally ask for military assistance from Russia.
INTERNATIONALIST 360° 