Putin agrees to send 'volunteers' to Ukraine

The Russian president stated that volunteers who want to help Russia in Ukraine should be assisted in reaching the area of combat operations, Sputnik reported.

"If you see people who want - on a voluntary basis, especially not for money - to come and help people living in the Donbas - well, you need to cooperate with them and help them move to the war zone," Putin stated during a National Security Council meeting.

Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu noted that there is a vast number of people who want to help the DPR and LPR in the special operation - over 16,000, with many of them coming from the Middle East.

Putin also approved an idea put forward by Shoigu, suggesting that Western-made weapons (small arms, tanks, anti-tank guided missiles and man-portable air-defence systems) seized in Ukraine should be transferred to the troops of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics.

At the same time, Shoigu noted that the West is boosting its military presence near Russian territory.

"The General Staff is developing and has practically completed a plan to strengthen our western borders, including, of course, those new, modern complexes, and to move combat units there to protect our western borders," Shoigu said.

RHM/PR