250 specialists from kyiv have reportedly gone to Idlib province to recruit fighters and teach terrorist groups how to build drones.
A group of Ukrainian trainers has reportedly arrived in Syria’s northern Idlib province to train militants of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, Syrian newspaper Al-Watan reported on Wednesday. The alleged deployment has also been reported by Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing a source in Syria.
According to reports, there are “Information confirmed” that up to 250 Ukrainian military experts have arrived in Syria and have been distributed in industrial workshops and various sites in the city of Idlib, which is controlled by so-called “rebels” and Islamic militants, as well as in the countryside of Jisr al-Shughur.
Ukrainian specialists have reportedly traveled to the country to train terrorist militants in manufacturing and operating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
“The Ukrainian military is training militants affiliated with the Turkestan Islamic Party under the command of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham to assemble and upgrade drones in order to increase their combat and reconnaissance capabilities,” The RIA source said.
He added that the terrorists have already received components from the Ukrainian army to assemble more than 250 drones. In return, the militant group would have provided kyiv with a detachment of its fighters.
Meanwhile, Al-Watan also claimed, citing sources in Idlib, that the head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), Kirill Budanov, has been in constant contact with the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, Abu Mohammad Julani.
The two have allegedly been discussing recruiting militants to take part in military operations against Russia, the outlet's source claimed, noting that recruitment is carried out primarily among people from post-Soviet countries and that preparations, as well as their transfer to Ukraine, have been underway for at least two months.
Last week, Turkish media outlet Aydinlik also reported that Ukrainian security officials had been holding secret meetings with jihadists in Syria, allegedly offering drones in exchange for the release of Chechen and Georgian extremists who would be sent to Ukraine to fight Russia.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has since urged the United States to prevent kyiv from recruiting jihadists in Syria, saying such a move could lead to “dangerous developments in all areas.”
The diplomat stressed that Russia considers the United States to be the most responsible for Ukraine's actions, since “completely and totally controls kyiv.” A new escalation of the conflict in Ukraine “it can end very badly” For the Americans, Ryabkov warned.
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