Russian President Vladimir Putin today ordered his army to facilitate the deployment of “volunteer” fighters to Ukraine in response to what he said were “mercenaries” being sent from the West.
“If you see that there are people who want to go there voluntarily and do it not for money, but to help those living in Donbas (in eastern Ukraine), then we should approach them and help them go to the battle zone. “, said Vladimir Putin, responding to a relevant proposal by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
He said there were about 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East ready to go to war with Russian-backed forces.
Putin also said today that he approved the handover of confiscated Western missile systems to Russian-backed separatist fighters in Ukraine.
Shoigu proposed the delivery of US-made anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, such as the Javelin and Stinger, to fighters in the Luhansk and Donetsk separatist regions of eastern Ukraine.
Putin, who made the remarks during a meeting of the Russian Security Council, said he supported the idea.
Russian forces in Ukraine are likely to seek to regroup and redeploy in order to launch new attacks in the coming days, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
In the morning briefing on the developments on the Ukrainian front, the ministry said that these new attacks will most likely include operations against Kiev.
However, it is noted that it remains highly likely that Russia will not have achieved the goals set by the invasion plan.
It adds that Russian ground forces are still making little progress. “The logistical issues that have hampered Russian advance persist, as does the strong Ukrainian resistance,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
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