Russia will deploy thousands of volunteers from the Middle East to fight in Ukraine, according to President Vladimir Putin.
Putin's 'special military operation' is now in its 16th day. More than 2.5 million people have fled the country amid constant shelling and conflict, with Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov claiming Russian forces have killed more civilians than soldiers.
While experts from the West believe the war is losing momentum, even with Russia advancing three miles closer towards Kyiv over the past 24 hours, Putin is preparing to employ the efforts of mercenaries from the Middle East.
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During the latest meeting of Russia’s Security Council, defence minister Sergei Shoigu said there's 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East prepared to fight alongside Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region.
This is a key area in the conflict, as Putin formally recognised the so-called people's republics of Donetsk and Luhansk prior to his invasion.
'If you see that there are these people who want of their own accord, not for money, to come to help the people living in Donbas, then we need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone,' Putin said, as per the National Post.
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Shoigu also suggested that a selection of weapons captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, including Javelin and Stinger missiles produced by Western manufacturers, should be handed over to Donbas troops, as well as anti-tank defence systems.
'As to the delivery of arms, especially Western-made ones which have fallen into the hands of the Russian army – of course I support the possibility of giving these to the military units of the Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics,' the Russian president added.
As Putin met with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the latter leader claimed 'people will have forgotten this has happened' in a few months, even believing there's an 'opportunity' to build something 'better than the Soviet Union', Sky News reports.
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In response to the wide-ranging Western sanctions against Russia, Putin said past sanctions have made the country stronger, in addition to citing 'certain positive shifts' in talks with Ukraine, despite continuous violence and casualties.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine has reached a 'strategic turning point' in the conflict.
He said: 'It is impossible to say how many days we still have to free Ukrainian land.
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'But we can say we will do it. For we have already reached a strategic turning point.'
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Topics: Russia, Ukraine, World News
Cameron Frew