Free Republic

The Kremlin has sent more than 400 Russian-paid mercenaries into Kyiv with the mission to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to a report. The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company accused of covertly working with the Russian government, flew in mercenaries from Africa to Kyiv about five weeks ago, The Times of London reported. Their assignment was to decapitate Zelenskyy’s government and prepare the ground for Moscow to take control in exchange for handsome financial bonuses, according to the newspaper.

The 400-strong squad of bloodthirsty mercenaries flown in from Africa with orders to kill Volodymyr Zelenskyy are part of a notorious private militia linked to a string of rapes, robberies, murders, and alleged war crimes. The Wagner Group - which is believed to have a hit list of 23 key figures including the Klitschko brothers - is considered by military experts to be at the beck and call of Vladimir Putin, although the Kremlin has repeatedly denied this. The force has already been heavily involved in supplying weapons, experienced special operations personnel, and military training to pro-Russian militias in eastern...

We asked Joshua Landis, director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma, and Aram Nerguizian, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, to weigh in on the state of the Syrian army and how it can respond to the challenge from ISIS. Syria Deeply: What is the state of the Syrian army? Joshua Landis: In Damascus, ISIS has gone to war with the Islamic Front in the Ghouta area and has been squeezed out of Ghouta, and is now trying to open a new front in Qalamoun, the range of mountains near...