Russia says U.S. recruiting terrorists to fight in Ukraine

MOSCOW, May 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States is actively recruiting members of international terrorist organizations, including the Islamic State (ISIS), as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.

In April this year, about 60 ISIS militants aged 20-25 were released from prisons controlled by the Syrian Kurds with the participation of American intelligence services, the SVR said in a recent statement.

They were "transferred to the U.S. military base Al-Tanf, located in Syria near the border with Jordan and Iraq, for combat training with a view to subsequent delivery to Ukraine," according to the statement.

According to the SVR, the Al-Tanf base and its environs have turned into "a kind of terrorist hub," where up to 500 ISIS members loyal to Washington and other jihadists are being retrained at the same time.

"The above facts once again confirm that the United States is ready to use any means to achieve its geopolitical goals, not excluding sponsoring international terrorist groups," it said.