Russia wants to involve Assad regime troops in Ukraine war, Ukrainian defence ministry says

Russia is looking to deploy Bashar al-Assad's regime troops to Ukraine, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has said on Thursday.

"If they freeze, our artillery will warm them," the ministry said in a tweet.

The statement came after a Syrian war monitor said on Tuesday that Russia had drawn up lists of some 40,000 fighters from the Syrian army and allied militias placed on standby for deployment to Ukraine.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local activists said Russian officers, in coordination with Syrian regime forces and allied militias, had set up registration offices in regime-held areas.

"More than 40,000 Syrians have registered to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine so far," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the UK-based monitor.

Russian officers deployed as part of the force Moscow sent to Syria in 2015 to support Damascus had approved 22,000 of them, Abdel Rahman said

Kremlin wants to engage Syrian troops of Assad regime in the war against Ukraine. If they freeze, our artillery will warm them up.#stoprussia #UAarmy

— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) March 17, 2022

Those fighters are either combatants drawn from the army or pro-regime militias who have experience in street warfare and received Russian training, the Observatory said.

In a country where soldiers earn between $15 and $35 per month, Russia has promised them a salary of $1,100 to fight in Ukraine, it added.

The Kremlin said last week that volunteers, including those from Syria, were "welcome" to fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine.

Moscow has been recruiting Syrians who acquired combat experience during Syria's 11-year-old civil war to bolster its invasion of Ukraine, which it launched on February 24.

According to the UN, over 350,000 people have lost their lives in the Syria conflict, but human rights groups estimate the death toll to be between 500,000-600,000.