Kiev has provided a shipment of drones to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group, formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, in exchange for experienced terrorists capable of forming units from Uyghur and Chechen fighters, a source within the Syrian opposition told Sputnik on Monday.

"Hayat Tahrir al-Sham previously received drones from the Ukrainian side in exchange for the transfer of experienced militants and leaders from the group," the source revealed.

Kiev requested leaders with experience among the Chechens and Uyghurs to establish combat units composed of mercenaries from the Caucasus region to support the Ukrainian armed forces, according to the source.

In the same vein, the Syrian newspaper Al Watan cited sources as saying that the head of Ukraine's intelligence service, Kyrylo Budanov, is in constant contact with the leader of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group on recruiting terrorists in Syria's Idlib for the Ukrainian armed forces.

The recruitment is primarily of terrorists from among those from the former Soviet countries, the newspaper reported, adding that their preparation and transfer to Ukraine has been going on for at least two months.

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