Earlier today, the Russian president, and in more recent times, war criminal, Vladimir Putin gave the go-ahead for the deployment of 16,000 volunteer Middle Eastern soldiers into the war with Ukraine.
In the same press release, it’s noted Putin is developing plans to fortify Russia’s western border in response to the NATO troops’ recent movements in Eastern Europe.
The invasion seemed to be losing momentum as Ukrainian forces showed significant prowess in defending against the vastly superior Russian army.
However, the inclusion of veteran fighters on the Russian side might just turn the tide of battle.
Middle-eastern volunteers rush to the Ukrainian battlefield
These forces are to be deployed in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
Russian propaganda portals are already sharing what seems to be Syrian combatants ready to volunteer in fighting Ukraine; this could easily be false information, given the nature of Russian state-owned media.
Putin claims these soldiers are joining off of their own accord and they’re not being paid to do so, but there is no solid evidence this is true.
The mercenaries Putin summoned from Syria to fight alongside 🇷🇺 against Ukraine…are Assad’s Shabiha/death squad. They’ve committed unspeakable atrocities in 🇸🇾: Slitting kids throats raping women+girls—forcing families to watch, torture & mass murder.pic.twitter.com/4zDzd1CpIG
— Rula Jebreal (@rulajebreal) March 11, 2022
The Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was tasked with fortifying the country’s western border as NATO closed in; although Putin addressed this as a separate matter that needs considerable preparation.
In order to prevent the chaos from spreading out of Ukraine, NATO deployed thousands of troops across central and eastern Europe.
This was a move met with a stern response from Moscow, which demands these military forces be pulled back from the east.
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 US responded to this with Kamala Harris’ latest vow to protect “every inch” of NATO territory, following the latest military exercise by US troops in Estonia, where dozens of Stinger missiles were fired.
What are Putin’s next targets?
However, analysts believe Putin could be eyeing other targets, namely countries that aren’t members of NATO or the European Union, such as Moldova, Georgia, Macedonia, and Bosnia, to name a few.
PUTIN JUSTIFIES USE OF MERCENARIES BECAUSE THE WEST IS OPENLY DOING IT IN UKRAINE pic.twitter.com/pqJ5B70LLp
— The_Real_Fly (@The_Real_Fly) March 11, 2022
It’s evident Putin is becoming increasingly frustrated with each day the Ukrainian volunteers manage to stave off the Russian military, thus forcing him to make rash decisions like the inclusion of middle-eastern mercenaries.
The war might be reaching its climax in the following days, as both sides prepare for a last-ditch effort to finalize the conflict.
However, with the Russian army’s low morale, lack of supplies, and an avalanche of technical issues, things might be more in Ukraine’s favor than the world initially thought.
