The head of the Russian Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed that a unit of American-trained former members of the Afghan military are fighting alongside his forces in Ukraine.
According to the Anadolu news agency, in a statement via Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin said that his Afghan fighters operate American weapons systems, including US M-777 howitzers and Javelin anti-tank missile systems, which were either captured or bought from Ukrainian forces.
“Yes indeed, the Afghan fighters of the Wagner PMC work with us in small numbers. Now there is an artillery unit, which at one time was trained to work on American artillery systems, M-777 howitzers, plus it works with Javelin anti–tank missile systems, which we manage to buy from Ukrainian units, or capture,” he said.
But according some reports, former Afghan soldiers have also signed up to fight for Ukraine.
“So far, 300 Afghan nationals have submitted applications to United Legion, a privately run website that works on behalf of Ukraine’s government to vet foreigners who want to enlist. Of those, 150 were verified members of the Ktah Khas, Afghanistan’s U.S.-trained national counter-terrorism unit,” Semafor reports.
“Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense did not respond to Semafor’s questions about the reasons, however, a source close to the government shared that its top concern with recruiting Afghan fighters is being infiltrated by spies. Russia’s Wagner Group has ongoing recruitment efforts in Kabul.”
