Russia accused of looking to Syria for troop reinforcements

Russia has drawn up lists of 40,000 fighters from the Syrian army and allied militias to be put on standby for deployment in Ukraine, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor says.

Ge, Keith McKenzie, head of the US Armed Forced Central Command tells Congressional lawmakers that Syrian volunteers are trying to join the Russian assault on Ukraine. “we believe that a small, very small group of people may probably be trying to enter Ukraine from Syria,” he says.

He notes that Russia is actually building up its forces in Syria and could disrupt NATO operations in the Middle East.

“Russia has been building up its forces and means to conduct foreign military operations,” he says.

The UK’s Defense Department also says Syrian fighters are among those being recruited to fight for Russia in Ukraine.