Several thousands of volunteers from various countries, including Western ones, are seeking to take part in Russia’s special military operation, Vladimir Rogov, the leader of the movement We Are Together With Russia, told TASS on Saturday.
The list of countries includes not only former Soviet republics, or Mideastern and Latin American countries, he said. "These are not only [people from] former Soviet republics, but there are citizens of the developed world - the United States, Great Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries, including Brazil and Argentina," Rogov specified. If these people can access Russia after necessary checks, several thousands of volunteers can join the special op in the near term, he added.
"Their motivation is quite strong, they would like to preserve traditional society and help Russia, they want to battle Nazism," Rogov explained as he underscored that their assistance would be both on battlefield and in the field of information. Also, the bulk of those people have some combat experience and hold a license to carry arms, and their participation might undermine the morale of the enemy, the politician said.
Earlier, Rogov said that volunteers from more than 40 countries were seeking to sign up for action as part of the special military op, and to fight on the side of Russia. According to Rogov, people that want to join the military operation face logistical problems and this issue requires a solution at the government level.
According to RT Media, there are more than 16,000 foreign fighters, many of them from the Middle East and experienced in the fight against jihadists, wanting to go to Ukraine and join forces with the Russian-backed Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, the Russian defense minister said on Thursday. Friday. During a meeting of the National Security Council, he suggested giving them the go-ahead.
“We believe it would be right to positively respond to those requests, especially since they are doing it not for money, but because that is their wish. We know many of those people – they helped us fight against ISIL (the terrorist group Islamic State) at the most difficult time in the past 10 years,” Sergey Shoigu recalled.
President Vladimir Putin said he supported the idea, pointing out that Russia’s opponents in Ukraine were recruiting foreign volunteers.
“The Western sponsors of Ukraine, of the Ukrainian regime, don’t hide it, do it in the open, in violation of international law,” Putin said, after labeling foreign fighters traveling to fight for Ukraine “mercenaries.”
Kiev has allowed foreign volunteers to come to Ukraine and fight against Russian troops there. Some Western nations warned their active-duty military service members against responding to the call. Nonetheless, Kiev claims some 20,000 foreign citizens from 52 nations have agreed to help its cause.
Later in the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that the volunteers discussed at the Security Council meeting would come from the Middle East, and particularly from Syria. He stressed that there had been no discussion about allowing Russian citizens to go to the frontline in a voluntary capacity.
During the meeting in Moscow, Shoigu also suggested arming with more advanced weapons the forces of Ukraine’s breakaway regions, which Moscow has recognized as sovereign states. He said Russian troops had captured plenty of military hardware from Ukraine, including West-supplied anti-aircraft and anti-tank portable missiles, which, he said, the rebels could put to good use.
The Russian president also approved this proposal, saying he would sign the relevant orders if needed.
The minister also raised the issue of NATO buildup in Eastern Europe, which has been done amid the hostilities in Ukraine. The Russian military has plans on how to counter it, Shoigu reported. Putin said this issue required further deliberation.
Moscow attacked its neighbor in late February, following a seven-year standoff over Ukraine’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, and Russia’s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics in Donetsk and Lugansk. The German- and French-brokered protocols had been designed to regularize the status of those regions within the Ukrainian state.
Russia has now demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked and has denied claims it was planning to retake the two republics by force.
Russian troops kill over 140 Ukrainian troops, destroy 3 foreign howitzers near Donetsk
The Russian Armed Forces have killed over 140 Ukrainian servicemen and destroyed two US-made M777 howitzers and a Polish Krab howitzer near Donetsk, the Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, reported on Saturday.
"As a result of a successful offensive by the Southern Group of Forces in the Donetsk direction, more than 140 Ukrainian servicemen were killed, and two US-made M777 howitzers, a Polish-made Krab self-propelled howitzer, Giatsint-B and D-30 howitzers, and a US-made AN/TPQ-50 radar system were destroyed," he specified.
Russian Forces Conduct Massive Strike on Ukraine's Energy Facilities - MoD
The Russian armed forces conducted a massive strike at Ukrainian energy facilities with the use of missiles and drones on February 10, hitting all targets, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
"Over the course of February 10, the Russian armed forces inflicted a massive strike with high-precision long-range air, sea and ground-based weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles on critical objects of the energy system that ensure the functioning of enterprises of Ukraine's military-industrial complex and transport system. The goals of the massive strike have been achieved," the ministry said.
All the targeted facilities were hit and the work of energy-intensive production facilities of Ukraine's military-industrial complex was suspended, the ministry added.
"The transfer of foreign weapons, ammunition and reserves by rail to combat areas has also been blocked," the ministry said.
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