MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that it is possible to involve volunteers in the provision of military assistance to Donbass on a no-cost basis.
"As for the mercenaries from all over the world being sent to Ukraine, we see that they do not conceal it, the Western sponsors of Ukraine, the Ukrainian regime, do not hide it, they do it openly, neglecting all norms of international law," the Russian leader said at a meeting with the permanent members of the country’s Security Council.
"That's why if you see that there are people who are willing to come as volunteers, especially not for money, and help people residing in Donbass, well, we need to meet them halfway and assist them in moving to the combat zone," Putin added following the report of Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
Shoigu announced that it is received "numerous requests from various volunteers from various countries, who want to come to the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics to participate in what they believe is a liberation movement," the defense chief said. "The majority of requests came from the Middle East, as we have received over 16,000 of them," he specified.
"Certainly, we believe it is right to respond favorably to these requests, especially since these requests are not for [making] money, but about the true desire of these people. We know many of them, they helped [us] in the fight against IS (the Islamic State, terrorist organization, outlawed in Russia) during the most difficult times, for the last ten years," Shoigu concluded.