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Military operation in Ukraine

Kremlin weighs in on volunteers for Donbass operation

Dmitry Peskov stressed that Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu talked only about foreign volunteers and the participation of Russian volunteers in the current special military operation in Ukraine had not been raised

MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The participation of Russian volunteers in the current special military operation in Ukraine has not been raised, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"[Russian Defense Minister] Sergey Kuzhugetovich [Shoigu] talked in particular about those who sent their requests from the Middle East, from Syria. Accordingly, there was no talk about our fellow citizens," the Kremlin spokesman noted responding to a question on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approval to attract foreign volunteers to the special operation extends also to volunteers from Russia.

In response to a follow-up question whether there are such plans, Peskov added that "at least it didn’t sound that way." "I have no information about it," he concluded.

Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu announced at Putin’s meeting with the permanent members of the country’s Security Council that the ministry received "numerous requests from various volunteers from various countries, who want to come to the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics to participate in <...> the liberation movement." The Russian head of state believes that it is possible to involve foreign volunteers in the provision of military assistance to Donbass on a gratuitous basis.

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Foreign policy Military operation in Ukraine

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