Russia is reportedly recruiting Afghan special forces soldiers who previously fought alongside American troops In 2021, the US withdrew its troops from Afghanistan – battle Wladimir Putin‘s war in Ukraine.
What happened: Afghan soldiers who fled to Iran after the chaos The US withdrawal resulted in the Taliban taking over their country are now being recruited by the Russian military, three former Afghan generals said The Associated Press.
“They don’t want to fight – but they have no choice,” said one of the generals. Abdul Raof Arghandiwal, was quoted. Arghandiwal added that about a dozen commandos in Iran he texted with fear deportation.
According to AP sources, Putin wants to lure thousands of former elite Afghan commandos into a “Foreign Legion,” along with offers of $1,500 in monthly payments and safe havens for themselves and their families.
“They ask me, ‘Give me a solution. What should we do? If we return to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill us,” Arghandiwal added.
He said the recruitment was directed by Russia Wagner grouplinked to President Putin, who was said earlier to be Pursue over 1,500 convicted felons to join Russia’s war in Ukraine.
counterpoint: A spokesman for the Wagner Group, however, dismissed the idea of recruiting former Afghan soldiers as “crazy nonsense,” according to the AP, which also said it didn’t get an immediate response from Russia’s Defense Department or the US Department of Defense.
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