Afghan Special Forces soldiers trained by the US military are now being recruited by the Russian military to fight in Ukraine, three former Afghan generals told the Associated Press.
They said Russians would offer thousands of thousands more by offering a steady payment of $1,500 a month and the promise of safe haven to avoid potentially deadly deportation to their home countries at the hands of the Taliban. Many of the commandos have fled to Iran after last year’s turbulent US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
General Abdul Raohu Al-Gandhiwal said he has been in touch with a dozen Iranian special forces men who do not want to fight Ukraine but fear deportation of themselves and their families.
“They ask me, ‘Can you give me a solution?’ What should I do?” Argandiwal said, “If I go back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill me.”
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Other developments:
The Ukrainian Football Federation has asked FIFA to exclude Iran from next month’s World Cup, citing reasons including arms supplies to the Russian army. Iran are set to face England in three weeks’ time in their first game in Qatar.
>Norway says it is stepping up its military preparations, but NATO member Prime Minister Jonas Gar Stoor has no reason to believe that “Russia would want to invade Norway or any other country directly.” It has said.
►Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and many top members of his government arrived in Kyiv on Monday for the latest show of support for Ukraine by European leaders.
40% of Kyiv without water due to rolling blackouts after missile attack
Russia launched its third major attack on Ukrainian infrastructure this month during Monday morning rush hour, forcing commuters into shelters and disrupting basic services for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. .
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media that 80% of the battered capital is running out of water, with parts of the city without electricity. By nightfall, water was restored to about half of those who had lost it, and a city-wide rolling blackout lasted four hours, followed by five hours.
Supplying air defense systems to fend off these attacks has become a top Pentagon priority, two senior Pentagon officials told reporters on condition of anonymity, said Monday. The Pentagon has provided Ukraine with anti-aircraft weapons, from pickup-mounted guided missiles to more sophisticated medium-range systems. The Russians are increasingly relying on Iran-supplied kamikaze drones to launch attacks on power plants.
The Ukrainian Air Force said it had shot down 44 Russian missiles Monday morning, but missile and drone infrastructure attacks were also reported in Kharkov, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhia and several other regions. The government plans to introduce an emergency blackout across Ukraine, said Deputy Director of the Presidential Office Kirilo Tymoshenko.
The strike came after Moscow claimed sovereignty over the country The Crimean Black Sea Fleet came under attack over the weekend. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleva said Russia would rather “fight civilians” than fight on the battlefield.
“Don’t justify calling these attacks a ‘response,'” he said. “Russia is doing this because it still has missiles and the will to kill Ukrainians.”
Russian recruits are reaching the frontlines with outdated weapons, report says
Thousands of Russian recruits are reporting weapons to the front that are “likely to be in almost unusable condition” and need different ammunition than that used by the Russian regular army, British defense says the ministry said in it. latest war assessmentPhotos show that the rifle is an AKM dating back to 1959.
Integrating Ukrainian contract soldiers and combat veterans with reservists means Russia will have to push two types of small arms ammunition into front-line positions, the ministry said.
“This is likely to further complicate Russia’s already strained logistics system,” the assessment said.
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Russia begins seizing Ukrainian-owned property in Crimea
The assets of several large Ukrainian companies will be seized by the Moscow-installed Crimean government, said Russian-installed leader Sergei Aksyonov. The Zaliv shipyard and Bakhchysarai cement plant in Ukraine are among his sites to be acquired, reports The Kyiv Independent. Aksyonov said other commercial and tourist sites, apartments and houses could be targeted, including properties owned by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Russia’s enemies do not make money in Crimea. This is a principled position,” Aksyonov said in Telegram.
Ships set sail from Ukrainian ports despite threat of Russian blockade
Ukraine’s infrastructure ministry said more than a dozen grain-laden ships set sail from Ukrainian ports on Monday, despite Russia threatening to reopen the blockade. A ship brought Ukrainian wheat to Ethiopia, where a severe drought is affecting millions of people. Ukraine and Russia are important global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other foodstuffs to some countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, many already suffering from severe shortages. is.
It is not immediately clear who would risk sailing out of Ukraine without Russian protection after Moscow claimed a Ukrainian drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet. He said that implementation of the grain agreement would be “almost unfeasible” in circumstances where it would be impossible to guarantee the safety of grains.
Contributors: Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY. Associated Press
