Russia has banded together up to 20,000 lightly equipped mercenaries to fight in the “battle for Donbas,” according to a report on Tuesday.
The soldiers for hire include Syrian and Libyan nationals, as well as other infantrymen recruited by the Wagner Group, a Russian-backed private military company, according to an unnamed European official cited in the report. The official estimated between 10,000 to 20,000 mercenaries are involved in Russia’s new offensive in eastern Ukraine.
“What I can tell you is that we did see some transfer from these areas, Syria and Libya, to the eastern Donbas region, and these guys are mainly used as a mass against the Ukrainian resistance,” the official said in the report.
The fighters are being sent into combat without heavy equipment or armored vehicles, according to the report.
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In March, the Pentagon confirmed a report that Russia was seeking to recruit Syrian fighters with urban warfare experience to send to Ukraine.
It was also reported in March that Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar had come to an agreement with the Kremlin to send Libyan soldiers to fight for Russia in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.
The British Ministry of Defense said last month that more than 1,000 Wagner Group mercenaries, including senior leaders, were deployed to eastern Ukraine to help with Russia’s stalled invasion.
The Pentagon estimated that 10,000 additional Russian troops have entered Ukraine in recent days, joining the 76 battalion tactical groups, each made up of 700 to 1,000 soldiers, in the country. Twenty-two battalions are still north of Ukraine, likely being refitted and resupplied before reentering the battlefield.
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In its latest assessment, the Institute for the Study of War said Russia has “not secured any major territorial gains” in its Donbas offensive. The think tank described the Russian combat units in eastern Ukraine as “patched up” with “few, if any, cohesive units not previously deployed to Ukraine.” According to the institute’s analysis, Russian forces in eastern Ukraine continue to suffer from “disastrously low” morale and “logistics challenges.”
