The irony . . . and fwiw, it is a Daily Mail article:
Afghan commandos trained by Allied forces are being recruited by RUSSIA to fight in Ukraine after they were abandoned by the West when country fell to the Taliban
Afghan commandos who had been trained by Allied forces to fight the Taliban are now being recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine.
Up to 30,000 members of the elite National Army Commando Corps were abandoned by the West when the country fell to the hardline Islamist group last year.
Now, the US-trained light infantry force that fought side by side with allied troops for nearly 20 years could be joining Vladimir Putin's savage war effort.
The commandos were honed by US Navy Seals and the British SAS, with a staggering £80billion spent on their training by the US.
An ex-security official said their call-up to Ukraine would be a 'game-changer' in Putin's faltering war.
Last year, Rep. Michael McCaul warned abandoning the commandos could prove to be a costly mistake by the US as they could be recruited for adversary armies.
One Afghan ex-commando captain who is now in hiding said he helped his comrades connect with recruiters in Iran.
They were flown to Tehran and then on to Russia where their phones are switched off and they carry out their mission 'secretly', he said.
The 35-year-old said: 'We are very disappointed. For 18 years, shoulder to shoulder, we performed dangerous tasks with American, British, and Norwegian consultants. Now, I am in hiding. I am suffering every second.'
But the recruitment of Afghan troops will serve as a major embarrassment to the US, after years and billions of dollars spent on their training.
Wagner's founder is Dmitry Utkin, a shaven-headed former lieutenant colonel in Spetsnaz – Russia's special forces. He named it after his Spetsnaz code name.
Utkin is seen as a neo-Nazi and was described by one Russian newspaper as having 'an appreciation of the aesthetic of the Third Reich', complete with tattoos of the Waffen-SS on his shoulder and an eagle on his chest.
Russia has officially denied the group's existence and its origins are murky, though it first appeared in 2014 in the Donbas.
Afghan commandos trained by Allied forces are being recruited by RUSSIA to fight in Ukraine after they were abandoned by the West when country fell to the Taliban
- Up to 30,000 Afghan commandos were abandoned by the West last year
- Now they are being recruited by Russia to join in Putin's faltering war effort
- It is believed the shadowy Wagner Group is behind the recruitment drive
Afghan commandos who had been trained by Allied forces to fight the Taliban are now being recruited by Russia to fight in Ukraine.
Up to 30,000 members of the elite National Army Commando Corps were abandoned by the West when the country fell to the hardline Islamist group last year.
Now, the US-trained light infantry force that fought side by side with allied troops for nearly 20 years could be joining Vladimir Putin's savage war effort.
The commandos were honed by US Navy Seals and the British SAS, with a staggering £80billion spent on their training by the US.
An ex-security official said their call-up to Ukraine would be a 'game-changer' in Putin's faltering war.
Last year, Rep. Michael McCaul warned abandoning the commandos could prove to be a costly mistake by the US as they could be recruited for adversary armies.
One Afghan ex-commando captain who is now in hiding said he helped his comrades connect with recruiters in Iran.
They were flown to Tehran and then on to Russia where their phones are switched off and they carry out their mission 'secretly', he said.
The 35-year-old said: 'We are very disappointed. For 18 years, shoulder to shoulder, we performed dangerous tasks with American, British, and Norwegian consultants. Now, I am in hiding. I am suffering every second.'
But the recruitment of Afghan troops will serve as a major embarrassment to the US, after years and billions of dollars spent on their training.
Wagner's founder is Dmitry Utkin, a shaven-headed former lieutenant colonel in Spetsnaz – Russia's special forces. He named it after his Spetsnaz code name.
Utkin is seen as a neo-Nazi and was described by one Russian newspaper as having 'an appreciation of the aesthetic of the Third Reich', complete with tattoos of the Waffen-SS on his shoulder and an eagle on his chest.
Russia has officially denied the group's existence and its origins are murky, though it first appeared in 2014 in the Donbas.