MOSCOW, August 20. /TASS/. Apty Alaudinov, Akhmat commander and deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department, suspects there may be active duty service members from NATO countries serving as mercenaries in the Kursk area.

"You must understand that they have thrown together a ragtag army. And they have deployed as many foreign mercenaries as they could to there," the Russian commander told Rossiya-1 television. "I guess there are people among these foreign mercenaries who are in the military of the NATO bloc," he added.

Later, Alaudinov confirmed to TASS that he meant active NATO servicemen.