Members of the command corps of the Afghan National Army, who were trained in Great Britain and the USA, are receiving offers to join the armed forces of Russia for the war in Ukraine, reports “Ukrainian Pravda” with reference to Foreign Policy magazine.

Journalists at the prestigious foreign policy and security magazine said several sources within the Afghan forces were briefed on the situation, noting that 20,000 to 30,000 volunteer commandos remained in Afghanistan after the West withdrew its troops from the country last year.

Only a small portion of the military was evacuated after the Taliban retook the country, with some managing to flee to neighboring countries or go into hiding to avoid capture and execution by the Islamist regime.

But many special forces were left hopeless and without work, waiting to be resettled in Britain or the United States.

Afghan security sources told FP that this could make them easy prey for Russian recruiters.

“They have no country, no job, no future. They have nothing to lose,” one of FP’s sources said.

Afghan special forces will be recruited by Wagner’s mercenaries

A former pro-Western government official who was also an officer in a special forces unit says he believes Wagner’s mercenary group is behind the recruitment effort for Afghan special forces.

“I tell you [recrutorii] I’m from Wagner’s group. They gather people from everywhere. The only organization that recruits foreign troops [pentru Rusia] this is Wagner’s group, not their army. This is not an assumption, it is a known fact,” says the former officer.

Some former Afghan special forces commanders said they were approached via WhatsApp or Signal with offers to join the Russian “foreign legion” fighting in Ukraine.

The recruitment proposals have sparked panic among Afghan army and security forces still loyal to the West, with some warning that up to 10,000 US military-trained troops could accept the Russians’ offer.

One source said some of the soldiers are trying to find work in Pakistan, Iran or Turkey, where they can expect to be paid $3 to $4 a day in the case of the first two countries and $10 a day. the case of the latter.

“If Wagner or any other intelligence came to the guy and offered him $1,000 to fight again, he wouldn’t turn that offer down,” an Afghan official was quoted as saying.

Russia continues to look for fighters abroad even after the mobilization decree

Russian investigative journalists have written since April that Wagner’s group, founded in 2014 by businessman Yevhen Prigozhin, nicknamed “Putin’s cook”, began recruiting in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan for the war in Ukraine.

In these countries, applicants were promised a salary of 100,000 rubles (approximately 1,700 euros) and the opportunity to obtain Russian citizenship.

These recruitment efforts by Wagner’s group, also taking place in Russian prisons, appear to have continued even after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a partial mobilization decree on September 21.

Murad Kurbanov, an exiled Turkmen opposition politician, said on Tuesday that Russian private military companies are illegally recruiting Turkmen prisoners and poor people.

According to him, if conscripts from Turkmenistan die at the front in Ukraine, then their death is associated with the coronavirus.

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