Putin plans to send 16,000 fighters from the Middle East to join the invasion of Ukraine

VLADIMIR PUTIN is preparing to release 16,000 fighters from the Middle East who are preparing to join the invasion of Ukraine.

Syria’s military has begun recruiting troops to fight alongside Russian forces, with thousands of volunteers expected to join the fight.

Putin said during a meeting of Russia’s security council that anyone in the Middle East who wants to sign up to fight for him should be allowed to do so.

And, according to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, 16,000 volunteers are ready to fight alongside Russia-backed forces.

“If you see that there are these people who want to come to help the people living in Donbas on their own accord, not for money,” Putin told his defence minister, “then we need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone.”

In a video response to Putin’s war effort, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said “thugs from Syria” would be coming to kill people “in a foreign land.”

One promises payments of $3,000 per month, which is nearly 50 times the monthly salary of a Syrian soldier.

On Friday, supporters of dictator Bashar al-Assad also asked for information on how to enlist.

They are among the 12,500 Russian troops killed by Ukraine, as the sputtering campaign continues to take its toll on Moscow’s forces.

When he ordered the invasion two weeks ago, the Russian tyrant expected a quick victory, but his forces have become bogged down and are now regularly hitting civilians.

Major General Andrei Kolesnikov of Ukraine’s 29th Combined Arms Army is the latest senior commander to die, according to the country’s defence ministry.

Colonel Andrei Zakharov was killed in a Ukrainian ambush near Kyiv, and his death comes on the heels of Colonel Andrei Zakharov’s.

Another general, Vitaly Gerasimov, was killed in fighting outside Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.

Major General Gerasimov received a medal for “capturing” the disputed province of Crimea in 2014, as well as medals for his leadership in Syria and the second Chechen war.

Other top commanders have been killed in recent Ukrainian fighting.

Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Safronov, commander of a Marine brigade, was killed, as were Lieutenant Colonel Denis Glebov and Colonel Konstantin Zizevsky, commanders of air assault troops.

Safronov and Glebov were killed when Ukrainian forces recaptured Chuhuiv, while Zizevsky was killed in Ukraine’s south.

Their deaths follow those of two other Russian generals and other senior Russian commanders.

Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky was killed by a Ukrainian sniper during the battle for Hostomel Airfield, which is located about 30 miles outside of Kyiv.

General Magomed Tushaev was killed when his Chechen special forces column, which included 56 tanks, was destroyed near Hostomel, north of the city.

The Chechen soldiers are known as “hunters,” and each of them was reportedly given a deck of cards containing the names of senior Ukrainian officials whom Moscow wishes to kill.

Warlord Vladimir Zhonga, who led the Sparta Battalion, a Neo-Nazi military unit with Kremlin support, is also among the Russian dead.

The group is responsible for a wave of deadly attacks on Ukrainian troops and has been fighting in the Donbass region since hostilities erupted eight years ago.

Two other senior Russian commanders, who have not been identified, have also been killed in the fighting.

According to Aleksey Danilov, Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, the failures have now resulted in the dismissal of eight generals, according to Ukrainskaya Pravda.

He also revealed that the Russians have changed tactics in the aftermath of the slaughter of their troops.

The invasion has also resulted in Russian pilots being shot out of the sky, tanks becoming stuck in massive traffic jams, and videos of soldiers sobbing after surrendering to the Ukrainians.