The United States has moved hundreds of fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to Ukraine, Sputnik reported on July 7. The fighters were transported to Ukraine via the autonomous Iraqi region of Kurdistan over the six past months, according to the Russian news agency, which added that the fighters are now being deployed at the front with Kiev forces against the Russian military.
“The American army transported the 650 militants via private planes, in batches, from inside the Kurdistan region of Iraq, towards Ukraine,” the agency reported, citing informed sources.
According to Sputnik, the U.S. opened a number of training centers in the countryside of the northeastern Syrian governorates of al-Hasakah and Deir Ezzor, where SDF recruits are trained on light and medium weapons before being sent to Ukraine.
Last week, Sputnik revealed that the intelligence services of the U.S. and Ukraine were plotting attacks against Russian forces in Syria and recruiting fighters from the war-torn country for Kiev forces. The CIA, the U.S. main intelligence agency, was promising recruits a monthly salary of up to $2,000, the news agency said.
The U.S. maintains some 900 troops between several bases in Syria’s northeastern region and a garrison in the southeastern area of al-Tanf under the pretext of fighting ISIS. This presence is not sanctioned by Damascus, who consider it to be an occupation.
Attempts to recruit Syrians for Kiev were first reported just a few days after the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.
Last April, The Liberal Washington Post reported, citing leaked U.S. intelligence documents, that the Ukrainian intelligence and the SDF were plotting attacks against Russian bases and key oil fields in Syria. The Kurdish-led group has since denied any involvement in such a plot.
Tensions between U.S. and Russian forces in Syria have been on the rise since the start of the operation in Ukraine. The U.S. attempts to recruit fighters from the country for Kiev forces, who are now struggling to keep their counteroffensive going, will likely lead to more escalation.