Afghan soldiers from the erstwhile regime have been drawn into fighting in the war in Ukraine, adding an entirely new dimension to a conflict that is poised for a dangerous new escalation.
Soldiers trained by the United States who had fled to Iran have joined forces with Russia in combating Ukrainian troops, a top source who was a part of the government of deposed president Ashraf Ghani told News18.
Up to 300 mainly ethnic Hazaras have been tapped by the Iranian government and its intelligence agencies to take up arms on behalf of its ally Russia, this source said.
“Some of these soldiers are fighting alongside Russians against Ukrainian forces,” he said.
US publication Foreign Policy first reported the news.
This source also told News18 that he has seen videos of Afghans also fighting on behalf of Ukraine and against Russia. These fighters, he speculated, are mercenaries who may have been recruited by the United States and other agencies.
Tens of thousands of soldiers trained by US forces fled from Afghanistan in August last year when the Americans withdrew from a country they had occupied for nearly two decades. In the chaotic aftermath, the bulk of those forces—about 20,000—were evacuated to Abu Dhabi. Many went to the US and some high-tailed it to Iran.
A ruling Taliban spokesperson told News18 that no one from the Taliban has joined the fighting in Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is poised dangerously as Ukrainian forces prepare for an assault on the southern city of Kherson, from where civilians have mostly been evacuated by Russia. Kherson will be a vital prize because it sits very close to the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
According to Foreign Policy, some former commandos report being contacted on WhatsApp and Signal with offers to join what some experts referred to as a Russian “foreign legion” to fight in Ukraine. News of the recruitment efforts has caused alarm in Afghanistan’s former military and security circles, with members saying up to 10,000 former commandos could be amenable to the Russian offers. As another military source told Foreign Policy: “They have no country, no jobs, no future. They have nothing to lose.”
Ahead of that key battle, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has been briefing his counterparts, including Rajnath Singh, about what he says are Ukrainian plans to use a ‘dirty bomb.’ Ukraine has denied the allegation.
Dirty bombs are conventional explosives mixed with radiological material.
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