EXPLAINER: Will Russia bring Syrian fighters to Ukraine?

By ZEINA KARAM
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved bringing in volunteer fighters from the Middle East, particularly Syria, to fight in Ukraine. The development comes as Russia’s invasion is now in its third week. Syria clearly has a rich pool of fighters to draw from and Russian  defense minister said on Friday that there are “more than 16,000 applications” already from the Middle East, though he didn’t specify which country. Russia’s military is deeply entrenched in Syria, where its intervention that started in 2015 helped President Bashar Assad gain the upper hand in the ongoing, 11-year civil war. But less clear is how significant, large or effective a Syrian deployment would be.