Russian President Vladimir Putin has granted permission to send volunteers to fight in the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics. The head of state ordered to help them move to the war zone. He said this at a meeting of the Russian Security Council, reports Ekho Kavkaza.
Putin argued his decision by saying that allegedly some "Western sponsors of the Ukrainian regime" are sending mercenaries from all over the world to fight on the territory of Ukraine. The President believes that this is done contrary to "all norms of international law".
During a meeting of the Security Council, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the department had received about 16,000 applications from volunteers from the Middle East, who want to come to the "LPR" and "DPR. According to him, they are going to take part in the "liberation movement. Putin ordered to "meet them halfway" and help them.
The Russian president also authorized the transfer of air defense equipment and anti-tank missile systems, as well as Ukrainian and Western weapons seized by the Russian military, to the "LPR" and "DPR."
Earlier, The Wall Street Journal reported that Russia was going to send mercenaries from Syria to fight in Ukraine, who had experience in urban warfare. The publication cited US government sources.
On 27 February, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that an "international legion" of foreigners who want to fight on the side of Ukraine was being created within the Territorial Defense Forces.
Recall that the Russian armed invasion of Ukraine began on February 24 on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. He called the goals of the military operation "denationalization" and "demilitarization" of Ukraine, but did not specify what he meant by that.
