40,000 Syrians register to fight for Russia in Ukraine, 400 mercenaries already in Ukraine

Amid the ongoing Russia Ukraine war, over 40,000 Syrians have registered to fight for Russia in Ukraine, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a non-governmental organisation, which has been using a dense network of local sources on the ground for years. However, on Monday, the organisation also said no fighters had left Syria so far.

This development comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for international "volunteers" to join Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russia's security council last week that international volunteers who wish to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine should be permitted to do so.

"If you see that there are these people who want of their own accord, not for money, to come to help the people living in Donbas, then we need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone," Putin said.

"So far, more than 40,000 fighters have signed up for enlistment," said SOHR, claiming that these are not "volunteers" but have signed up on promises to receive "a salary and privileges". According to SOHR, the payment for the service was rumoured to be between $1,500 and $2,500, although no amount had been confirmed. Recruitment is taking place in Damascus and Aleppo, SOHR said. The organisation further added that through various Syrian government entities that have been co-opted by the Russian military apparatus in Syria for years,

While speaking to CBS News, former National Security Advisor of the White House H.R. McMaster said that Putin and his military were becoming increasingly "desperate."

Russian occupiers continue to amass reserves on their soil in preparation for a conflict with Ukraine. Mercenary detachments are being established, ready to carry out the unlawful commands of Russian commanders in exchange for a reward. There are already 400 Syrian mercenaries in Ukraine.

"Thugs" who would travel to kill people "in a foreign land," Zelenskyy

Speaking about Syrian recruits, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Syrian recruits thugs. "Who collects reservists and conscripts from all over Russia to throw them into the hell of war, who came up with the idea of bringing in mercenaries against our people. Thugs from Syria", Zelenskyy announced in a daily televised address in Kyiv on Friday. 

Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych claimed that the move was a sign of the Russian army's weakness. 

"Where's the powerful Russian army if they can't get by without Syrians? If they want us also to kill 16,000 Syrians — let them come," Arestovych said at a televised briefing.