Russia Sends Interpreters and Mercenaries From Africa to Support Troops in Syria

The morale of Russian military personnel in Syria has taken a beating due to the successful advances by forces opposed to the current regime. Arab Russian interpreters are urgently being sent to the Syrian city of Hama, where the Islamist group "Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham" is fighting against Bashar al-Assad.

They are intended to support Russian officers attempting to restore order among Syrian government troops, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) reported at a news briefing on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Moscow has also decided to send reinforcements in the form of mercenaries from private military companies, part of Moscow’s so-called “African Corps,” who are expected to arrive imminently, the HUR report said, adding “Planned rotations of Russian troops in Syria have been suspended.”

How the battle unfolded

On Sunday, Dec. 1, Kyiv Post reported that Russian forces were facing significant losses during battles in Syria, prompting Moscow to replace the commander of its troops in the country, the HUR reported. The Kremlin dismissed Kiselyov, who had been leading the group in Syria.

In his place, the Kremlin appointed Gen. Alexander Chayko who had already commanded Russian forces in Syria from 2017 to 2019.

On Monday, Dec 2, Kyiv Post reported that in the Syrian capital of Damascus, armed clashes had erupted between rebels and government forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad, as the situation for Russian troops based in Syria deteriorating rapidly.

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As a result, Russian military personnel and diplomats had begun to urgently evacuate the capital as opposition forces actively advanced towards the south, with clashes reported in the cities of Hama, Homs, and Suwayda.

“The aggressor state’s military contingent has fled from Hama and evacuated to the Khmeimim Air Base. The head of the Russian coordination headquarters located in Khmeimim, Col. Gen. Alexander Zhuravlyov, acknowledged that the Assad regime has lost control over the situation,” HUR stated.

Amid the chaotic withdrawal of Russian troops, Arab-language social media channels were abuzz with discussions about the resignation of the commander of Russian in-country forces, Gen. Sergey Kiselyov.

At the same time, Col. Vadim Baykulov, who commanded a Russian special forces unit, had been urgently summoned to Moscow. He was expected to explain why his unit suffered losses and how military equipment in Aleppo ended up in enemy hands, intelligence reports separately revealed.

Who are the opposition?

The offensive thrust into Syria’s Aleppo governorate that began on Nov. 27 is being carried out by a coalition of Islamist militant groups led by the Turkish-backed former Al Qaeda affiliated group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

According to reports on some Islamist social media sites, the rebel groups based in the Idlib region – which is said to include members of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) – had received operational training from special forces troops from the Khimik group of HUR. The training team focused on tactics developed during the war in Ukraine, including the use of drones.

HUR’s Khimik group was credited with the attack on a Russian military base on the southeastern outskirts of Aleppo on Sept. 15, in which Russian attack drones and “camouflaged improvised explosive devices,” were destroyed according to a Kyiv Post military intelligence source.

At the end of July, Kyiv Post received several exclusive videos and photos showing the continuation of the special operation by HUR units to destroy Russian forces in Syria.

According to Kyiv Post sources in the special service, the Khimik group carried out another complex strike on Russian occupation forces in Syria in late July 2024. This time, the target of the attack was Russian military equipment at the Kuweires airfield, located east of Aleppo.

In early June, Kyiv Post also published exclusive footage of Ukrainian special forces attacking enemy checkpoints, strongholds, foot patrols, and columns of military equipment in the Golan Heights in Syria.

According to Kyiv Post’s HUR source, since the beginning of the year, insurgents with the support of Ukrainian fighters have struck numerous times against Russian military facilities under the control of the so-called Russian Armed Forces Group in the Syrian Arab Republic.