Kremlin
Moscow Times: Military Veterans to Kremlin: Come Clean About Syria Mission
Russian military veterans urged the government on Thursday to acknowledge it sends private military contractors to fight in Syria, in a bid to secure financial and medical benefits for the fighters and their families.
The statement breaks years of public silence about a secret operation involving thousands of Russian civilians fighting in Syria on the side of President Bashar al-Assad whom Moscow has been helping militarily since September 2015.
Based on accounts of people who knew killed fighters and a military medic, Reuters earlier reported that over 100 contractors had died in combat since the start of the operation in Syria. The Kremlin denies such an operation exists.
Read more ....
Update: Vladimir Putin Told to Stop Lying About Russian Secret Forces in Syria (Newsweek)
WNU Editor: Military veterans are one of Putin's strongest constituencies. He cannot just ignore them .... he will have to respond. Russian mercenaries who are killed are insured and the funds are paid to their beneficiaries. The problem are the wounded. Knowing the Russian medical system and how it operates, if they are not insured their care will be substandard at best.
Hat tip Fred for this link.
