Russia remains committed to Syria’s Assad despite Ukraine war, Pentagon says
Reports that Moscow has been readying tens of thousands of Syrians to fight in Europe are "disinformation," senior US defense official tells Congress.
A senior Pentagon official threw cold water on recent news reports that Russia has been redirecting significant numbers of its troops and local mercenaries from Syria to fight in Ukraine.
Dana Stroul, the Pentagon’s top Middle East policy official, sought to correct the record before members of the Senate’s Foreign Relations panel on Wednesday.
“We have not seen a notable change in Russian activities in Syria, nor on its commitment to backing [President Bashar al-]Assad and his brutal campaign that terrorizes the Syrian people,” Stroul said.
Stroul dismissed recent claims that the Kremlin has deployed several thousand mercenaries from Syria to fight in Ukraine as “disinformation,” while acknowledging that very small numbers of Syrian recruits may have been mobilized.
