Corroborating sources in northern and northeastern Syria said that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has recently accelerated the recruitment of militants from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) militias to fight Russia in Ukraine.
Sources close to the SDF, and some Arab tribes allied with it and with the U.S. occupation forces in northern and northeastern Syria, confirmed to Al-Watan that large groups of militants joined the battlefronts in Ukraine for the benefit of President Zelensky’s regime in the last three months.
The sources pointed out that the number of SDF militants who went to Ukraine by private planes through Iraqi Kurdistan from the governorates of Raqqa, Deir-ez-Zor and Hassakeh since the beginning of this year reached about 850, out of approximately 2,000 militants that U.S. intelligence was able to recruit since the Ukraine war began in mid-February last year.
They indicated that the Ukrainian army established a special battalion for SDF militants within the so-called “Foreign Corps,” created by the Kiev authorities at the beginning of their war with Moscow. The salaries of militants affiliated with Washington, including militia members, were raised from 1,500 to 2,000 U.S. dollars monthly. The increase was designed to boost numbers following the failure of the Biden administration’s efforts to make significant military breakthroughs in support of Ukraine.
The sources predicted another salary increase soon as the Ukrainian military suffers more setbacks vis-à-vis its Russian counterpart along the battlefronts, especially after the recent failure of the Wagner coup.
The sources pointed out that the U.S. occupation forces established three camps in rural Hassakeh and Deir-ez-Zor to train SDF militants, with the encouragement of the so-called Autonomous Administration of North and Northeast Syria, which receives support from Washington in return.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
