The DIU told how Russia uses Syrian mercenaries as “cannon fodder” in Luhansk region
Kyiv • UNN
Russia is recruiting Syrians to fight in the war against Ukraine, promising passports and jobs. The mercenaries are sent on hopeless assaults, refusing to evacuate the wounded and registering the dead as missing.
The Russian military leadership is throwing mercenaries from Syria into "meat" assaults in the Luhansk region. Syrians are promised high salaries and paid work, but few of them return. This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, UNN reports.
Details
The aggressor state of Russia continues the practice of "Zhukovshchina", using foreign mercenaries as cannon fodder in the war against Ukraine
According to the GUR, war-torn Syria has become one of the countries where Russia is actively recruiting male population to fight. The mercenaries are promised Russian passports and paid work, after which few of them return.
The DIU told the stories of Mohammed Mansour and Waheed Mursal Al-Shibli. They fought against Ukraine as part of the 488th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 114th Motorized Rifle Division of the Russian occupation army (military unit 12721).
In July 2024, Mansur was sent by the Russians to attack near the town of Svatove, Luhansk region, as part of a detachment of 14 Syrian mercenaries. They were covered by Ukrainian soldiers. The Russian invaders rejected the request to evacuate the wounded and ordered the Syrians to continue the assault. Mansur, who was wounded, did not comply with the Russians' order and fled the battlefield. The rest of the mercenary unit was defeated - the occupiers reported them as missing.
On September 15, 2024, Syrian publics wrote about the death of their citizen during the war against Ukraine - a peasant, Wahid Mursal al-Shibli, received a Russian passport and went to storm Ukrainian positions in the Luhansk region as part of a group of 7 mercenaries. The group was defeated, Mursal was wounded and died due to the lack of evacuation. The fate of the rest of the Syrian militants is unknown.
Addendum
According to the GUR, Russia has set up a scheme with travel agencies to recruit Syrians for the war against Ukraine: first, poor people are offered jobs as security guards in Russian oil provinces, and then lured with higher salaries to participate in "meat assaults.
