Russia’s assault on Ukraine has been viciously raging for approximately two months, leaving little gains to show in the grand scheme of things. With Russian forces mired in a costly, long-drawn-out conflict with the Ukrainian military, we have seen nothing yet of Putin’s claim at the start of the invasion that “16,000 volunteers from the Middle East were ready to fight for Russia.” In fact, despite considerable losses in manpower and equipment for Moscow, we have seen no evidence at all of any Syrian or Middle Eastern fighters in Ukraine whatsoever, either as volunteers or mercenaries. Althoug…