A top Russian lawmaker said "a unit of Russian volunteers," including battle-hardened veterans who have fought in eastern Ukraine, may join Syrian government troops fighting Islamic State extremists and other terrorists in that country.
Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, in comments to Russia's Interfax-AVN news agency Monday, said Russian involvement on the ground in Syria is "likely."
Komoyedov, the head of the Russian parliament's defense committee, did not suggest a timetable for any Russian involvement, and there was no immediate comment from the Kremlin by late Monday.