The Russo-Ukrainian War becomes more of a transnational conflict by the day. While the Ukrainian state has its Georgian Legion and International Legion among others, the Russian state appears to be mobilizing its own proxy forces across the world to fight in Ukraine, from Wagner in Africa to Baathists in Syria. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed on Friday that “more than 16,000 applications” for volunteers had been received “from Middle East countries.” The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights puts the number much higher at 40,000 volunteers from Syria alone, not including potential volunteers from Libya.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s TV channel just shared this footage of Syrian combatants ready to “volunteer” in Ukraine. (Putin moments ago endorsed such deployments, claiming that the West is openly sending mercenaries.) pic.twitter.com/ouCfjAcSde
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) March 11, 2022
The pro-Assad Radio and Television Center of Deir ez-Zor announced in a Facebook post on Sunday: “Registration is open for those who wish to join the Russian forces in Ukraine from the youth of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, with a monthly salary of 1500 euros, in addition to food, winter clothes and full logistics.” This confirms recruitment efforts in government-held territory.
While evidence of pro-Assad Syrian mercenaries has mounted, Turkish-backed mercenary militias of the Syrian National Army appear to be uninvolved in the conflict for now. Though numerous influential Turkish-backed Syrian fighters such as Suhail “Abu TOW” Hamoud have expressed their willingness to fight in Ukraine, none have been able to go—yet. This comes as a surprise to some observers of the ethically questionable Turkish-backed mercenary forces, given their hasty deployments to Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Statements from Turkish President Erdogan indicate a reluctancy to deploy Syrian mercenaries in Ukraine, economic relations with the Russian state in mind.
Nonetheless, Ukraine is enjoying extensive use of the Turkish TB-2 Bayraktar drone in lieu of Turkish-backed mercenaries, a drone also not exactly known for its moral compass. Unlike Libya, Somalia, and Syria, Ukraine is more difficult for the Turkish state to colonize with Russia as its neighbor, thus is perhaps less a priority for the Erdogan administration. Though Turkish-backed mercenary militias are absent in Ukraine at the moment, this can change at any time, with no indications that the Ukrainian state would oppose this deployment.
