Potential risks

Why has the recruitment of foreign fighters escalated in the Ukraine crisis?

Karam Saeed

Regional Affairs Researcher - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Democracy Magazine

After the Russian attack, Ukraine announced the formation of an "international corps" for foreign volunteers wishing to fight against Russia, andthousands responded to the Ukrainian call, despite the enormous risks they may be exposed to due to the escalation of fighting, and Kiev has made significant progress in facilitating the entry of foreign fighters, as it canceled visa procedures for foreign volunteers who want to enter the country and join the fight against Russian forces.The  Kiev government has also established a website for foreign citizens wishing to join the International Defence Corps of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian call for the involvement of foreign fighters in thewar against Russia is dangerous, and its risks are not limited to Ukraine, but may extend its negative repercussions on the region and the European continent, especially in light of the Russian employment of foreign fighters as well, as Russia withdrew  on March 7, 2022,  a number of fighters of the "Wagner" and "ISIS Hunters" (Russian) groups from Syria to fight alongside its forces in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin ordered on March 11, 2022 By transporting "volunteer fighters" from the Middle East to fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine. According to the Russian defense minister, 16,000 volunteers, mostly from the Middle East, have applied to "volunteer" to fight with Russia in Ukraine.

Moscow has recruited Syrian mercenaries with urban guerrilla experience to participate in the war it has been waging since Feb. 24, not to mention the deployment of Chechen strongman Ramadan Kadyrov, an ally of the Russian president, of Chechen fighters in Ukraine to fight alongside Russia.

Indeed, the recruitment and counter-employment of foreign fighters in the Ukraine crisis could open the door wide to the growth of radical extremist activities and allow armed groups to reposition themselves in a different environment in an attempt to recover from defeats in areas concentrated in the Middle East. The recall of foreign fighters in the Ukrainian arena could turn Ukraine into an arena for the transmission of extremist and more extreme ideologies, along with providing a fertile environment for the rise of the far right in Europe.

Revealing indications

There are several revealing indications that Russia and Ukraine are intensifying their efforts to recruit foreign fighters in their conflict, as follows:

Legalization of the invitation of foreign fighters: Ukraine was keen to provide the official status for the presence of foreign fighters, and this was revealed by the statement of the Ukrainian president, who said that the leadership welcomes foreigners wishing to join the resistance and protect global security, and they only have to come to the country and join the ranks of its defenders, and added that "a separate unit of foreign fighters is currently being formed." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also signed a presidential decree allowing volunteer foreign fighters willing to support Ukraine against Russian military intervention to enter. Visa-free country. The decision was implemented as of the first of March 2022.

On the other hand, Ukraine opened the door for in-kind and financial donations for the benefit of the Ukrainian regular army and volunteer formations, and it is also noteworthy that the new National Resistance Law was issued  on the first of January 2022 and  made an entity called the "Regional Defense Forces of Ukraine" a legal entity, and this entity receives Ukrainians from civilians wishing to join the defense of the country on a "half-time" basis, that is, part-time and without losing their civilian jobs or leaving their families.

Raising the level of support for Russian forces through Wagner: Russia has increased the level of support for its military forces on Ukrainian territory, as evidenced by the withdrawal of Wagner elements from conflict zones in Syria, Libya and Africa and sending them to Ukraine.

In parallel, press reports revealed that Russia transferred about 400 fighters from Mali to Ukraine, and that one of the tasks of these mercenaries is to assassinate the current Ukrainian president, as well as Russia did not only employ irregular foreign fighters, but also sought to employ regular foreign fighters, such as talking about the possibility of transferring soldiers from Belarus and Russia to Ukraine to support Russian forces, as well as talking about Kazakhstan's refusal on March 2, 2022 to send soldiers to Ukraine within the Collective Security Treaty With Russia.

In the context of confirming the Russian use of foreign fighters, the US Department of Defense confirmedon March 7, 2022, that Russia is recruiting Syrian and other foreign mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, where the Russian army's invasion of this country faces fierce resistance. Punta JOne spokesman John Kirby added: "We believe that the information that they (the Russians) are recruiting Syrian fighters to reinforce their forces in Ukraine is correct." "It's interesting that Putin has to use foreign fighters."

Western silence on the involvement of foreign fighters in Ukraine:  Western countries have been keen to support Ukraine's attempts to bring in foreign fighters, as evidenced by the media promotion of the importance of defending Ukraine, and considering the Russian attack on Kiev an existential threat to the Western world.

On a related level, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss announced her support for the direction of those wishing to fight to Ukraine, and "Terrace" had retweeted to its Ukrainian counterpart about the need for volunteer fighters to contact Ukrainian diplomatic missions in order to facilitate their transfer to Kiev in order to confront Russia.

Registration offices: Ukraine has tended to establish electronic platforms to facilitate the recruitment of foreign fighters, led by the fightforua.org website., a site that  Kiev announced that millions of people had visited. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said in a tweet on March 6: "In the first 24 hours, about 13 million people visited the fightforua.org site.  The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, also confirmed  on March 7, 2022, that the Ukrainian military "has already received several thousand requests from foreigners who want to join the resistance against the Russian occupiers, and protect global security from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

On the other side of the front, reports published by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights revealed that Russia has opened registration in Syrian regions to  "travel to Ukraine and work as guards" with salaries ranging from $200 to $300.

Russia's announcement of strict measures against foreign fighters in Ukraine: The statements announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense on March 3, 2022 revealed an explicit recognition of the intensity of the involvement of foreign fighters in the current conflict scene between Moscow and Kiev, as the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that mercenaries fighting alongside the Ukrainian army will be deprived of the treatment of prisoners of war, and also claimed that foreign mercenary attacks on Russian forces in Ukraine are carried out using weapons provided by the West. The Russian position means that Once the ceasefire is ceased, those arrested will be tried in accordance with Russian law.

Miscellaneous Goals

According to writer Daniel Byman in his book "Road Warriors: Side Fighters in Jihad Armies", the phenomenon of foreign fighters has its roots  mainly in al-Qaeda, which succeeded in attracting many foreign fighters to its ranks during the resistance to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the eighties. Following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis in 2011, Syria became a headquarters and corridor for foreign fighters, with a large number of fighters traveling there, and the influence of these fighters escalated on the eve of the Islamic State (IS) takeover. on large tracts of land in Syria and Iraq in 2014. The phenomenon of foreign fighters has taken root with the tendency of some countries to establish security companies or what is known as parallel armies, in the foreground, including the American Blackwater, the Russian Wagner Group, the Turkish Sadat, and others.

It is likely that Russia and Ukraine's call-up of foreign fighters comes in the context of a number of objectives, which can be explained as follows:

Balancing Russia's military capabilities: Ukraine's call for foreign fighters is inseparable from its desire to employ them in  the face of the Russian military machine and compensate  for the weakness of Ukrainian military capabilities. Ukraine is aware of the ability of these fighters to play prominent roles in conflict zones at the military levels, especially in light of their keenness to adhere to the orientations of the countries for which they work and their ability to carry out unconventional terrorist operations against adversaries. In this context, the intensity of Ukraine's dependence on foreign fighters can be understood, given They have qualitative capabilities and extensive combat experience, which can curb the Russian military capabilities that managed to control a number of Ukrainian cities, and stand on the threshold of the capital Kiev and a number of Merkyo cities, in the forefront, including Kharkiev, the second largest Ukrainian city.

Kiev has also stepped up its call to receive foreign fighters due to concern about developments on the battlefield, foremost among which is the refusal of European powers and the United States to respond to the Ukrainian president's demands that military forces be sent to fight alongside his forces against Russia, not to mention the limits of European military aid to Ukraine to change the course of the battle against Russian forces.

On a significant level, the losses in the ranks of the Ukrainian military have accelerated the approach of relying on foreign mercenaries, as the past days have witnessed the death of a large number of Ukrainian soldiers, and in the context of circumventing these losses,Ukraine has tended to rely heavily on importing fighters from abroad.

Reducing Russian losses: Russia relies heavily on the fighters of the Russian Wagner Group, to reduce losses in the ranks of the regular forces, especially since Ukraine has shown fierce resistance in the face of Russian forces, and it is noteworthy that there is evidence of an organic relationship between it and Russia in terms of logistical or military technical support. Over the past few days, Moscow has withdrawn about 500 members of the Wagner militia who were stationed in the oil fields at the third station in the desert of the city of Palmyra, east of Homs province, and the field of Shaer" for gas in the eastern countryside of Homs, and oil wells controlled by Russian forces in the desert of Deir Ezzor province, eastern Syria, to fight alongside their forces in their war against Ukraine, and also withdrew about 300 members of the "ISIS hunters" militia from the oil fields it controls in the Syrian desert, and threw them alongside its forces and the "Wagner" militia in the war against Ukraine. This is likely not the first time the Wagner Group has redeployed special forces soldiers from combat zones in Syria, Libya and Africa in line with Putin's evolving foreign policy goals.

Protection of influence: Ukraine and Russia relied on employing the phenomenon of foreign fighters in the current conflict between them, under the pretext of preserving what they called "national interests and protecting national security", without regard for the principles of international law related to the employment of terrorist militias in international conflicts, let alone turning a blind eye to the Charter of the United Nations, which obliges its states to refrain from organizing and encouraging terrorist acts on the territory of another state.

Exerting pressure on the countries supporting the government of Ukraine: Some literature has revealed that one of the reasons Russia used the Wagner Armed Group, and some Syrian mercenaries to confront the Ukrainian army, is to use these elements to pressure the countries supporting Kiev, and push them to change their behavior. Russia also relies on these fighters to change the course of the battles and prolong them, and dismantle the capabilities of the Ukrainian army. On the other hand, Russia, through Wagner and others, is trying  to influence the approaches of adversary countries to form a vision counter-to Western visions of the need to support Ukraine in the face of Russian military operations.

Potential risks

The Ukrainian arena has turned into a hotbed for foreign fighters, and according to the statements of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on March 5, 2022, volunteers from 52 countries flocked to his country to fight side by side with the Ukrainians. The growing phenomenon of foreign fighters in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is associated with many negative repercussions and risks, which can be explained as follows:

Revival of jihadist currents: There are growing fears that the Ukrainian crisis and Moscow's preoccupation with its military operations in Ukraine will provide breathing space for jihadist currents in the Middle East, and reorganize their ranks after suffering painful blows in their areas of influence, especially in Syria, Iraq and Libya. Suspicions took root after  ISIS intensified its terrorist operations against the Syrian army, and it was notable here, the announcement by the Syrian Ministry of Defense on March 7, 2022, that a terrorist attack targeted a military overnight bus in the Palmyra desert in the eastern countryside of Homs. The terrorist organization ISIS is taking advantage of the absence of Russian air strikes in the skies over Syria due to Moscow's preoccupation with the Ukraine crisis, and the Russian Air Force was intensifying its strikes against ISIS before the Ukrainian crisis, as the number of Russian raids on the strongholds of the organization and armed groups in Syria during the period from January to February 2022 for more than 674 airstrikes.

In parallel, it is possible to increase the influence of armed currents in the region during the next stage, in addition to Moscow's preoccupation with the conflict in Ukraine, the Western powers on the Syrian arena may tend to open a door for coordination with jihadist currents in the Middle East region to employ them in supporting Ukraine, and in this context, Russian intelligence revealed on March 4, 2022 that the "Al-Tanf" base, which is controlled by US forces in Syria, has become a training camp for ISIS terrorists before sending them to Donbass. Eastern Ukraine to support the Ukrainian army.

Behind the above, the Ukrainian crisis, and the tendency of the parties to the conflict towards heavy dependence on foreign fighters, may allow an increase in the momentum of cross-border terrorism, which may allow elements of jihadist currents in the Middle East, especially ISIS, to create alternative homelands or safe havens, especially after the setbacks it suffered in its areas of influence.

Complexity of conflict resolution: Russian and Ukrainian moves towards the use of foreign fighters and militants in conflict areas in the Middle East and Africa may complicate the resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, as the use of "mercenaries" will contribute to expanding the scope and duration of the conflict, and moving from a regular war to a slide into an open war that would threaten regional and international security, in addition to its dire repercussions on Ukraine.

The entry of groups of foreign fighters could also hinder efforts to end the conflict in Ukraine, as it would aim to ignite confrontations and sustain the war to reap the greatest possible gains. With the difficulty of controlling the movements and activities of these groups, serious violations will emerge that will hinder reaching a formula that ends the war. It is also believed that these battle groups will move to overturn the understandings between Moscow and Kiev, if they include clauses that reduce or restrict their advantages, which is what happened in the past when the Minsk-2 formula was signed and some battalions rejected the arrangements related to the separation of the lines of engagement between the two sides.

Here, it can be argued that relying on security companies and elements of foreign fighters may further complicate the conflict more than dismantle it, especially since "the nature of a volunteer fighter affiliated with security and defense companies is that he does not abide by the laws of war, and therefore prolonging military operations and increasing war crimes is more likely.

Impact on European security: The process of bringing foreign militants to the Ukrainian arena carries many risks to European security, especially since the Russian attack on Ukraine led to pushing the leaders of far-right European militias to raise funds online, try to recruit fighters, and plan to travel to Ukraine in order to counter the Russian military intervention, which was clearly manifested in  the inclusion of volunteer lists of fighters from the United States, Canada, Britain, Denmark,  Hungary and Japan, amid reports hinting that The Ukrainian National Guard's Azov battalion is cooperating intensively with Western security companies to attract far-right foreign fighters from around the world, a phenomenon likely to have negative repercussions on European security in the short and medium term.

Ukraine's transformation into an arena for unconventional warfare: On March 3, 2022, the Ukrainian president confirmed that 16,000 foreign fighters had arrived in his country to help fight against Russia, and Ukrainian estimates indicated that nearly 3,000 Americans volunteered to fight in the ranks of Ukrainian forces, not to mention the arrival of fighters from Georgia, Poland, Canada and others to support Ukraine. On the other hand, Russia has strengthened the presence of Wagner fighters as well as opening the door to contracting with Syrian and African mercenaries.

It is likely that the intensity of the dependence of the parties to the conflict on foreign fighters reflects the possibility of turning Ukraine in particular and the European continent in general into a point of position for hybrid warfare, in which the manifestations of threats to regular forces and non-state actors are identical, which carries with it negative repercussions on the security situation not only in Ukraine, but on different regions in the world.

Promoting extremist ideologies: The Ukrainian President's invitation to volunteers from everywhere in the world to fight alongside the Ukrainian army in confronting Russia, opening Ukrainian embassies around the world to facilitate the entry of fighters into Ukrainian territory, as well as bringing in mercenaries from conflict areas around the world, can contribute to providing an incubating environment for the transformation of Ukraine and the Eastern European region into an incubator environment for extremist ideologies, and at the same time represents an opportunity for the recovery of the most extremist ideologies around the  world.

With most of the volunteers so far from the United States and European countries and volunteers from Middle Eastern countries, the return of these fighters to their countries is likely to pose a real threat to security and stability, especially since most of these returning fighters will have network relationships with fighters from other countries around the world.

The high cost of the Ukrainian crisis:  The involvement of foreign fighters in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, and the attempt to employ them in military operations by the parties to the conflict, is expected to raise the cost of the conflict even more, as the number of displaced people inside Ukraine is expected to increase with the increasing number of refugees fleeing Ukraine, as  estimates announced by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on March 22, 2022 revealed that the number of Ukrainian refugees who fled outside their country exceeded 3.5 million refugees.Since  the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, media and human rights reports have indicated that "the majority of Ukrainian refugees have gone to neighboring Poland."

In conclusion, the Russians' reliance on Wagner fighters, and the summoning of Ukrainian officials to foreign fighters in order to engage in field battles against Russian soldiers, although it may achieve temporary gains on the ground, in the medium and long term may represent a real dilemma for the Ukrainian decision-maker, as this reflects a potential danger to any stability inside Ukraine, and to global security, especially European security, if political settlements are reached in the near future.