Syrian Opposition Groups Offer Support to Ukraine Against Common Russian Enemy

Syrians, who have suffered more than a decade of war in their country, are working to support the Ukrainian people as they face war at home. They have a common enemy; Russian forces have fought on behalf of the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad since September 2015. Syrian opposition organizations, including the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, are sharing information about their experiences with the Russian forces and are working to help Ukrainian refugees, the AFP news agency reports. Meanwhile, a coalition of Syrian groups has started the Syria Ukraine Network (SUN), which has helped Syrian doctors travel to Ukraine to care for people injured in Russian attacks and to coordinate the documentation of war crimes and response to potential chemical attacks. In the rebel stronghold of northwestern Idlib, doctors at the Academy of Health Sciences are training Ukrainian doctors and nurses online. “Syrians have lived the shelling, killing, and displacement brought on them by Russian forces. The time and place have changed, but the victim is the same – civilians – and the killer is the same – the Russian regime,” Raed al-Saleh, head of the White Helmets, told AFP. On Wednesday, Ukrainian and Syrian activists will set out on a “Freedom and Justice Convoy” from Paris to the Ukrainian-Polish border to show Syrian solidarity with Ukraine.