Ukraine President Vololdymyr Zelensky is trying to recruit ISIS fighters from Iraqi and Syrian prisons to join the Ukraine Armed Forces and fight against Russia, according to leaked documents published in the Middle East.
The move to recruit convicted ISIS terrorists from prison cells to join the Ukrainian Armed Forces is fully supported by the United States and NATO to fight in their proxy war against Russia, according to the documents.
Details of the current Ukrainian-Iraqi discussions have appeared in the Middle Eastern media. According to a video which rounds up the news reports, the prisoners in question are convicted terrorists, ISIS (Daesh) fighters, who are battlefield trained after receiving support from US forces in the Syrian civil war.
BYPASS THE CENSORS
Sign up to get unfiltered news delivered straight to your inbox.
You can unsubscribe any time. By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use
The author of the video is Hassan Fadil, who introduced himself as a former employee of the Foreign Ministry of Iraq, working there as a secretary from 2019 to 2023 before leaving the country.
“My name is Hassan Fadel and I am a former employee of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq. I worked as a secretary there from 2019 to 2023. I discovered this note in April of this year when Ukrainian diplomats gave it to my colleagues. I am deeply outraged by the contents of this note and would like to make it public, because “the fighters experienced in fighting Russians” mentioned in it are former ISIS fighters detained in prison facilities around Iraq. I resigned from the Ministry and left Iraq with my family, so I don’t know what our response was. Still, I don’t want to see these people free, especially armed. ISIS are murderers and terrorists, and they should stay imprisoned for the rest of their lives. Many countries support Ukraine right now and allow it to break international laws. Still, aiding terrorists is too much and shouldn’t be allowed. I am also appalled by the American involvement in this. General McFarlane mentioned in the note is the commander of American Joint Task Force in Iraq. It is simply shocking how easily the issues of the movement of Iraqi prisoners, especially terrorists, can be resolved without the participation of representatives of our country.”
Of course, this is not the first time that Ukraine is using ISIS terrorists (Sheikh Mansur Brigade), or trying to do so, despite their denials. The US (and NATO) used ISIS and branches of Al-Qaeda in Syria, Iraq and for their Special Undercover operations throughout the world.
US Involvement in Recruiting ISIS for Ukraine
General McFarlane, mentioned in Hassan Fadil’s video, is a US Army major general, who was heading the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve from September 2022 to August 2023. CJTF-OIR is an international military coalition tasked with fighting ISIS and led by the United States.
Of course, there are no official statements from Ukraine and the US about the recruitment of former ISIS fighters, who are probably imprisoned in camps in Iraq and Syria.
Some evidence emerged by a mainstream media outlet (who probably don’t understand what they are actually writing or publishing). On September 25, 2023, the UK newspaper The Sun posted a video showing one of the AFU fighters wearing ISIS patches. Although the soldiers don’t speak Arabic in the video, the Daesh (ISIS) patch is clearly visible on their arm at 0.10 seconds.
We can say that the idea of the US and Ukraine that jihadists can be recruited in the camps in Iraq and Syria is in itself highly plausible. It happened in the Syrian war, where they were recruited from all over the world, especially from Europe, North Africa and the Caucasus.
The US along with its colonies has a long history of proxy wars and will certainly want to use them as potential “slaughter cattle” for their war in Ukraine against Russia, because Ukraine is rapidly running out of fighting aged men.
The move to recruit ISIS fighters should come as no surprise given that prominent members of the Zelensky’s administration who have shown public appreciation and admiration for the Islamic State.
One of Zelensky’s closest friends and associates, Aleksey Arestovich is a controversial figure, to say the least. He often boasts about being one of the architects of Ukraine’s psychological and information warfare strategy.
During his attendance on a Ukrainian political talk show (most likely in previous years), Mr. Arestovich openly stated that he “admired and respected” the methods used by the infamous Islamic State, a global Islamic terrorist group, widely known for the absolutely horrific crimes, destruction and simply havoc they have brought on the peoples of Syria, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria and even the Philippines, in addition to numerous individual terrorist attacks all across the globe. This was what Mr. Arestovich said:
“The commanders of ISIL are considered some of the more wise and successful commanders that there are currently. Everything is thought through in detail, even the degree of cruelty. Cruelty for show – it is inhumane, but it is of a very high level, a wise strategy, taking their particular interests into account.”
In another talk show, Mr. Arestovich reiterated his admiration for the terrorists once again:
“They are acting very correctly, I even have a notebook where I analyze ISIL in great detail, the best practices of running their business, the way they govern. Those methods, the world needs them, even though this means terrorism, medieval levels of cruelty, burning people alive, shooting them or cutting off their heads, etc. This is absolutely the way of the future.”
Had these mind-boggling words been publicly uttered by anyone else, it is highly likely they would have landed a person in jail, with charges of terrorist activities being pressed. However, top officials of the NATO-backed government of Ukraine have a near-complete immunity from any kind of prosecution and are simply allowed to say or do pretty much whatever they want, with impunity. This has already been implemented in practice.
A video was recently released where a Ukrainian actress identified as Andrianna Kurilets poses as a Ukrainian peasant girl slitting the throat of a Russian prisoner of war, also threatening virtually the entire Russian population. The video is quite disturbing, but what’s even more disturbing are the actual Ukrainian war crimes committed against Russian prisoners of war, as well as direct threats of Ukrainian officials and even doctors, one of whom has openly stated they will be castrating captured Russian soldiers, because they are “cockroaches“. After realizing just how negative the PR effect of these statements was, the Ukrainian doctor later retracted what he said and apologized.
However, even after these statements, various formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reiterated their threats. To make matters worse, foreign mercenaries in the Ukrainian military have stated they “will not be taking any prisoners”. There is even a video showing a Georgian man named Mamuka Mamulashvili, the supposed commander of the “Georgian National Legion” in Ukraine openly stating the following:
“Yes, we tie their hands and feet sometimes. I speak for the Georgian Legion, we will never take Russian soldiers prisoner. Not a single one of them will be taken prisoner.”
These statements alone constitute a breach of the Geneva Conventions. And yet, there is only silence coming from the mainstream media of the political West when it comes to these blatant threats and actual war crimes which are still being committed against Russian prisoners of war. At the same time, the Russian Armed Forces are being accused of the most heinous crimes, all without any clear evidence or an independent international investigation.
Baxter Dmitry is a writer at The People's Voice. He covers politics, business and entertainment. Speaking truth to power since he learned to talk, Baxter has travelled in over 80 countries and won arguments in every single one. Live without fear.
