Report: Ukrainian Troops in Syria to Train Terrorists to Use Drones

Date: 17 September 2024 - 22:05

News ID: ۱۳۱۴۳۵

DAMASCUS (Dispatches) – A group of 250 Ukrainian military men is in Syria’s Idlib Province to train terrorists, amid Ukrainian and American attempts to open a new front against Russian forces in the Arab country, a report says.
“There is confirmed information that the number of Ukrainian instructors who have already arrived in Idlib has reached 250 people. They have been distributed among production facilities in the city of Idlib and in Jisir al-Shughur region,” an informed Syrian source told Sputnik.
According to the source, the Ukrainian instructors are set to train terrorists from the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group in the production and modernization of drones.
“More than 250 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were delivered to HTS in Idlib in batches in the form of components along with civilian goods,” the source added.
The source further said, “Ukrainians and Americans are transferring battles from Ukraine to Syria in order to open a new front against Russian forces in Syria.”
The report noted that more than a month ago a number of Ukrainian intelligence officials visited Idlib several times to coordinate and plan attacks against Russian troops.
Russia is a key supporter of Syria and has deployed forces to the war-ravaged Arab country on the official request of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to help with the fight against foreign-backed Takfiri terrorist groups, including Daesh, since 2015.
Sputnik also referred to a report by Syrian newspaper Al Watan which said the chief of Ukraine’s military intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, has been in constant contact with the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham to recruit militants to join the Ukrainian armed forces.
The report comes amid intensified fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
In February 2022, Russia launched what it called a special military operation in Ukraine partly to prevent NATO’s eastward expansion after warning that the military alliance was following an “aggressive line” against Moscow.
The Western countries have been fueling the flames of the war with their unchecked delivery of weapons to Ukraine.
Moscow has repeatedly warned that such a flow of weapons to Kiev will only prolong the conflict.