The Moscow Times
Russia has in recent weeks deployed mercenaries to eastern Ukraine to help pro-Moscow separatists defend against Ukrainian government forces, Reuters reported Thursday, citing four unnamed fighters who had been recruited.
President Vladimir Putin said earlier Thursday that Russia “must react” to what he alleged are Ukrainian plans to attack the pro-Moscow territories in eastern Ukraine known as the Donbass. Putin’s claims follow weeks of Western warnings that Russia could invade Ukraine as early as January.
The independent Meduza news website reported earlier this week that recruiters in Russia had started gathering groups of mercenaries for a “combat mission” in Donbass, but that the scope of their work was unknown.
