Is Hezbollah Poised to Send Fighters to Help Russia?

The Italian newspaper, Il Giornale, is running a story today that reports rumors of possible use of Lebanese Hezbollah fighters to assist the Russian forces in Ukraine. According to this story, members of the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, met with Hezbollah leaders in Beirut this week, and as a result of their agreement, some 800 Hezbollah fighters may be on their way to Belarus, and then to Ukraine. The story has not been officially confirmed.

The below article is translated by Fousesquawk. 

 https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/mondo/russia-potrebbe-usare-miliziani-hezbollah-ucraina-2021101.html

800 Hezbollah militiamen in Ukraine: The czar's extreme move

26 March 2022-12:12

Rumors out of Russia and Ukraine speak of almost 800 militiamen of the Lebanese Shiite movement ready to depart to the war

Mauro Indelicato

The Russians are reportedly thinking of enlisting almost 800 Hezbollah militiamen into their ranks. The new rumor about the war in Ukraine has come directly from Russia, specifically, the newspaper, Novaya Gazeta. This is one of the voices of the opposition, always having declared themselves as being autonomous and independent from the Kremlin line.

The czar's extreme move

The news was also picked up and reprinted by the media in Kiev. According to details reported, contractors of the private group, Wagner, reportedly went to Lebanon convincing Hezbollah leaders to give assistance to the Russian action in Ukraine.

Those from the Lebanese Shiite movement who take part in the conflict in Donbass could receive at least 1,500 dollars a month. The negotiation reportedly finished in the past few hours, and the first 200 Hezbollah militiamen could already arrive in Belarus by the end of March, from where they would be taken to Ukraine.

The news has not been met with comments from other parties. At the moment, no statements from official sources in Kiev have been recorded in this sense. It is not the first time there has been talk of combatants coming from the Middle East to help Russia.

In the past few days, there had been talk of at least 16,000 Syrians close to being placed along Russian lines. A rumor that came out after the words pronounced by Putin on 11 March, in which (he said), "....it is good to help those from the Middle East who want to help our armed forces in the Donbass". According to intelligence from Kiev, those words concealed the desire of the Kremlin to take fighters from the Syrian theatre, where Moscow is the absolute protagonist being the principal ally of the government of Bashar Al-Assad.

But the pro-Russian "Syrian legion" has never become reality. A few days ago, the Pentagon itself denied the presence of Syrian fighters in Ukraine. Perhaps, the Russian president wanted to postpone the arrival of the Syrians or the information relayed from Kiev was not accurate.

Previous relations between Russia and Hezbollah

Hezbollah is a Lebanese Shiite movement well-rooted in the south of the country, that is along the border with Israel. In 2006, a war broke out between the Shiites and the Jewish state which caused hundreds of victims in a few days.

Between the movement (present within Beirut institutions as a party but also having paramilitary forces at its disposal) and Russia, the convergence is shown by the Syrian scenario. Both the Russians and Hezbollah are active in Syria supporting Assad. It is estimated that dozens of militant Shiites have died in these past few years at the side of Syrian forces.

Any presence of Shiites on the Ukrainian chessboard would not be welcomed by Israel. The movement is, in fact, financed in large part by Iran and is strongly tied to Teheran, considered by the Jewish state as the principal enemy to its own security.