WASHINGTON, December 22. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine doesn’t ask American soldiers to fight for it, since Ukrainians can operate American tanks perfectly well.

"Ukraine never asked American soldiers to fight instead of us. I can assure you that Ukrainian soldiers can perfectly operate American tanks and planes themselves," he said addressing US Congress in English.

He also asked for more financial aid. "Financial assistance is also incredibly important and I would like to thank you very much for both financial packages you have already provided us with and the ones you may be willing to decide on," he said.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in early November that more than 8,000 foreign mercenaries had been recruited by Western countries over the eight months of the armed conflict. DPR People’s Militia Colonel Andrey Bayevsky told TASS earlier that there were so many foreign nationals in the Ukrainian Armed Forces that they not only served as commanders but were also active in firing positions. According to Bayevsky, the main reason is that Ukrainian service members are not trained to use the weapons that the West is providing to Kiev.

The US administration said on Wednesday US’ new package of military assistance to Ukraine will amount to $1.85 billion, which will include Patriot missile systems. Moscow has repeatedly warned Washington against supplying weapons to Kiev. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on December 14 that Patriot systems would be a legitimate target for Russian troops in case they are supplied to Ukraine.