Several sources tell news that several Norwegian-trained special soldiers from Afghanistan have been enlisted for the war in Ukraine. The soldiers were part of the Afghan special police department Crisis Response Unit 222 (CRU). When NATO and Norway left Afghanistan in August 2021, the Afghan government collapsed, and the Taliban took control of the entire country in record time. For fifteen years, the CRU hunted the Taliban and other terrorist groups. Photo: Christian Nørstebø / Forsvarets Forum The crisis put the Norwegian-trained special soldiers and their families in a very demanding situation. Their mortal enemies in the Taliban now had all the power in the country. Some of the special forces were evacuated to Norway, while others went into hiding or went to Iran to escape the Taliban and to find new work. Over the past year, several of these soldiers have been recruited by Russian agents in Iran for the war in Ukraine. The Afghan colonel from the special unit receives daily calls from CRU soldiers asking him for help. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news – A short time ago, a group of seven people and another of 25 were recruited to fight with the Russians in the Ukraine war. The soldiers were recruited in two different cities in Iran, but they have not traveled to Ukraine yet, says an Afghan colonel to news. – At first I didn’t believe it, but the soldiers in Iran sent me a recruitment form, he continues. Today he lives in Norway after being evacuated in 2021. He wishes to remain anonymous because of the safety of his family in Afghanistan. He has daily contact with former CRU soldiers in Afghanistan and Iran. Promised salary and a Russian passport news has gained access to a recruitment form that is distributed to the Afghan ex-soldiers in Iran. In the form, the soldiers are asked to state which departments they have worked for in the past, their home address in Afghanistan and references. The soldiers are promised a monthly salary of 1,500 US dollars and an offer of a Russian passport after six months of service. This is the form that is handed out to soldiers who want to enlist for the war in Ukraine on the Russian side. Photo: Privat / news The man on the left in the picture is fighting on the Russian side of the war in Ukraine. His wife in Afghanistan is asking Norway for help. Photo: Privat/news news has spoken to a former CRU soldier who is now fighting on the Russian side of the war in Ukraine. The man in his 30s works as a mercenary for Putin’s private army, the notorious mercenary organization Wagner. In the meat grinder of death The soldier finds himself in the city of Bakhmut. It is referred to as a “meat grinder” and a “hell on earth”. Since last summer, there has been fierce fighting in the small town and thousands of soldiers have lost their lives on both sides of the conflict. The situation in Bakhmut is demanding, and in a short telephone conversation with news, the man confirms that he was a CRU soldier in Afghanistan, that he was recruited in Iran, and that he now works as a mercenary for Wagner in Ukraine. Before he has to break off the conversation, the former CRU soldier says that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard is helping Russian agents with the recruitment of Norwegian-trained special soldiers. His wife, whom news has met in Afghanistan, gives news access to a recording of a telephone conversation she had with him a few weeks ago. There he says, among other things: “I regret that I left. here there are fierce battles, there is little sleep and people are being killed everywhere. Right now it is not possible to get out of here. The Russian authorities are not helping us as they did earlier.” He goes on to say that he is tired: “I am not feeling well and I am very tired. There is a lot of fighting here. It is not clear when it will end. Just pray for us. Allah is most merciful. I am looking forward to find a possible way to get home.” Both the wife and the soldier wish to remain anonymous. The young woman, who has several children, does not want to be photographed for security reasons, but wants to tell about the dramatic situation for her husband in Ukraine. According to the wife, her husband traveled to Iran seven months ago, but one day he called home and said he was in Ukraine. – My husband was a soldier in the CRU, but when the Taliban took over power in the country, it was no longer a job for him. In addition, it was dangerous for him to stay in Afghanistan, since the Taliban were hunting CRU soldiers, she tells news. Therefore, he decided to go to Iran to work. There he was recruited by Russia and sent to Ukraine to fight, according to her. There are fierce battles in Bakhmut. The city has become an important symbol for both Ukraine and Russia. In the picture we see Ukrainian artillery bombarding Russian targets in the city. Photo: KAI PFAFFENBACH / Reuters The wife also shares photos and other documents with news showing that her husband was in the CRU unit. We took the photos of two Afghan CRU officers who live in two different cities in Norway. Both confirmed that the soldier in the photo is a former CRU soldier. The Afghan colonel who lives in Norway confirms that the soldier in the picture was in the CRU unit. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news news has spoken to several former GRU soldiers in Norway. They say that several of their former colleagues have enlisted as mercenaries. They do not know how many are or have been in combat in Ukraine. Several international media, including The New York Times and Al-Jazeera, have written about Afghan special forces who are now working for Putin’s war in Ukraine The embassy denies news has submitted the information in this case to the Iranian embassy in Norway. – We strongly reject the baseless claim about the recruitment of Afghan forces in Iran for the war in Ukraine, and we consider this ridiculous claim to be part of the Iranophobia policy, they write in an email to news. Play audioI’m not feeling well and I’m very tired. There are a lot of battles here. It is not clear when it will end. Just pray for us. Allah is Most Merciful. I look forward to finding a possible way to get home. Here there are battles all the time. I have lost many friends, and many others have been injured. – Recruitment is taking place, there is no doubt that Lieutenant Colonel Geir Martin Steindal knows well the CRU unit that was established by the Norwegian Defense Forces in 2007. Steindal has been to Afghanistan several times and has kept in touch with many of the soldiers even though he went retired in 2020. He also knows the Afghan colonel whom news has interviewed in Norway. – The CRU soldiers are very skilled, they have received good training and good support from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ special forces to develop their tactics, says Steindal. – They put many Taliban people in prison. Now these individuals are free and seeking revenge, and the CRU soldiers are being hunted by the Taliban. That is why they escape to Iran, he continues. He does not know anyone personally who has been drafted into the war in Ukraine. Lieutenant Colonel Geir Martin Steindal knows the Afghan special forces very well. He believes Norway is failing the soldiers. Photo: Mohammed Alayoubi / news – Russia is interested in people who can use weapons and fight. They need combat power and I don’t think it is very important whether these soldiers survive or not, says Steindal. news has submitted the information in this case to the Russian Embassy in Norway, but has so far not received a reply. I regret that I left, here there are only battles, there is little sleep and people are killed everywhere. Right now it is not possible to get out of here. Russian authorities are not helping us as they did in the past. They have taken us to a difficult place. It is not possible to get out here. Warns that more may be recruited The Afghan colonel in Norway believes that the economic and political situation in Afghanistan is pushing more soldiers to travel to Iran, and later enlist as mercenaries for Russia. He believes Norway must help before it is too late. – A salary of 1,500 dollars a month is a lot of money for an Afghan soldier who has nothing before. The soldiers have to help their families in Afghanistan. They have no choice. They are either killed by the Taliban or starve to death, he explains. The colonel says that he is called daily by former CRU soldiers in Afghanistan. – They say that they have been promised help to come to Norway, but that nothing has happened yet. For a long time I asked the soldiers to wait and said that help was on the way, but now they don’t believe me anymore, he says. Soldiers from the Crisis Response Unit. The Norwegian instructors put a lot of emphasis on teaching the Afghans how to run military departments without corruption. Photo: The Norwegian Defense Forces Help was promised by the Norwegian authorities The Norwegian authorities evacuated 115 people from the CRU unit in 2021. Including family members, the number is a total of 525 people. According to Lieutenant Colonel Steindal, the Norwegian authorities were supposed to pick up more, but that did not happen. – The government was supposed to make an arrangement for those who remained. Instead, there was an official message that Norway will not help any more, says Steindal. “It is not envisaged that additional personnel in the Crisis Response Unit (CRU), who have been mentored by Norwegian soldiers, will be covered by this scheme. This group has never been employed by the Norwegian authorities,” the government wrote in March 2022. Steindal believes Norway has a moral responsibility to help these soldiers. Former Minister of Defense Anne-Grete Strøm-Erichsen and Chief of Defense Harald Sunde visit Kabul in 2012. Here they are together with the head of CRU, Major Khosh al Sadat. Photo: Ann Kristin Salbuvik/FD / NTB – We have supported this group financially and militarily, and so we have regained fighting strength which gave us security in Kabul, among other places. Suddenly we leave and then they are left, he says. Unfortunately news has submitted the information in this case to the Norwegian Armed Forces, and press officer Per Espen Strande writes in an e-mail to news: – CRU 222 personnel were Afghan special police who received training from Norwegian forces. Their primary task was counter-terrorism in the Kabul area. If news’s information is correct, and some of these soldiers are now working as mercenaries on the Russian side in Ukraine, then of course this is unfortunate. It hurts that the soldiers fight for Russia The Afghan colonel in Norway says that it hurts to see CRU soldiers travel to Ukraine and fight on the Russian side of the war. – I warn them against traveling to Ukraine. I tell them if you choose to leave, they are no longer one of us, says the colonel. He is grateful that he and others were able to come to Norway. At the same time, he hopes that Norway, together with other European countries, can accept the soldiers who remain in Afghanistan. – These soldiers assisted Norway for 14 years. It is important that they get help now, he says.
ttn-69
Norwegian-trained special forces are fighting on the Russian side in Ukraine – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
