Western and Libyan officials have said that more than 1,000 Syrian and Russian mercenaries, stationed in Libya, have been relocated from North Africa, as one of the first signs that the invasion of Ukraine is beginning to put external pressure on Moscow.
newspaper quoted “Financial TimesThe British newspaper quoted Western officials as saying that regarding 200 Russian mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner private military group and regarding a thousand Syrian mercenaries that Moscow had deployed in Libya, were withdrawn in recent weeks.
A regional official familiar with the deployment process told the newspaper that regarding five thousand pro-Russian mercenaries are still deployed in Libya.
A senior Libyan official confirmed that Russia had already withdrawn some mercenaries from his country, but he did not mention any additional details.
The newspaper pointed out that the cost of the invasion of Ukraine is starting to affect the deployments of the forces backed by Moscow, as it is also reported that regarding 200 fighters from the Wagner Group have left the Central African Republic.
Two Western officials said that Russia did not initially intend to withdraw any of its forces from Libya, but the decision came following it failed to make major steps in Ukraine.
Three other Western officials said the Wagner fighters had withdrawn to Ukraine, but it was not clear whether the Syrians would be sent to Ukraine as well.
According to the newspaper, officials in Kyiv confirmed the killing of Syrian mercenaries who were fighting with Russian forces once morest Ukrainian forces on the front lines, but Western officials said that there is still no evidence that the Syrians were stationed in Ukraine.
According to a Turkish official and another Western, Turkey closed its airspace to Russian military flights coming from Libya and Syria regarding a month ago, amid fears of transferring fighters and equipment to Ukraine.
“The Turks had some evidence that the Russians were moving people and possibly equipment from Syria and Libya to the battlefield in Ukraine,” the Western official said.
It is noteworthy that Turkey had publicly announced the imposition of the no-fly zone for the first time last Saturday.
On March 15, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that Russia had prepared lists of more than 40,000 fighters who are part of the Syrian regime forces and groups loyal to them, to be ready to fight alongside the Russian army in Ukraine.
This is not the first time that Syrian fighters have participated in wars outside the country, as thousands have gone over the past years to fight in Libya and Azerbaijan alongside forces backed by Russia or Turkey.
Last month, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said that regarding 1,000 mercenaries from the Wagner Group were already in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, where Russia has built two separatist enclaves, including Syrians.