SOHR stated that a notice was sent to Al-Qatarji militia members — who have been sanctioned for acting as an intermediary between Assad’s regime and the Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS),) letting them know they could sign up for “mercenaries” to Russia in Ukraine.
SOHR stated that payment for the work was between $1,500 to $2,500 but has not been confirmed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that any foreign volunteer who wants to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine should be allowed.
Putin stated, “If you can see that these people want to help the people in Donbas of their own accord and not for money, then we should give them what they want”
Volodymir Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, called the Syrian recruits “thugs” and said they would travel to murder people in “a foreign country.”
The Ukrainian armed forces are smaller than Russia’s and have issued a call for foreign fighters. Some of these fighters — from Canada and the United Kingdom — are already in Ukraine.
“I believe that they [the Russians] run out of time and ammunition, manpower,” General Ben Hodges, who was formerly the commander of the U.S. Army Europe, stated to CBS News. He said that he had based his assessment on open source information as well as personal experience. However, he believes he won’t be far off.
Hodges stated that reports of low morale and dissension among commanders, mutiny at least on one vessel, desertion, etc. All of these events occurred within the first two week.
H.R. McMaster, a former White House national security advisor H.R. McMaster, an ex-White House national security adviser, stated that Putin and his military were growing increasingly desperate. “
McMaster stated, “Russia is getting really desperate — not just with this action to interdict supply routes but also with trying laying the foundation for, perhaps, the use chemical arms. This is worrying.”
“This is a sign of weakness. Russia, and Putin in particular, is in serious trouble.