Russian President Vladimir Putin this week gave the green light to bring in volunteer foreign fighters from the Middle East to help in his country's war in Ukraine.
However, an Estonian intelligence analyst interviewed by New Lines Magazine was not impressed that Russia is already resorting to bringing in foreign fighters when in theory it should have overwhelming military superiority over Ukraine.
“The very idea of bringing in Syrian fighters is extra desperate,” the analyst explained. “It is one thing to fight in the narrow streets of Arab cities. It’s something else in Kyiv or Kharkiv, where the boulevards are 100 meters wide. The cold climate doesn’t suit them, and their morale is low as well.”
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The analyst said that the prospect of bringing in Belarussian forces was slightly more promising for Putin -- but not by much.
“Belarusian troops’ motivation is even lower than that of the Russians,” he explained. “And the western Ukrainian — the probable approach line of Belarusian units — nationalist and anti-Russian sentiment would make the terrain very hostile toward them.”