17 Oct 2026
Putin sends 16,000 mercenaries from Middle East to Ukraine
At a meeting with members of the Security Council Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday supported the idea of sending foreign mercenaries to fight in Ukraine .
Thus, Defence Minister Shoigu reported that "many applications have already been received, most of all from the Middle East - 16,000 people". This was reported on the Kremlin website.
The President supported the proposal as saying that "western sponsors of Ukraine" were already sending mercenaries to the war zone.
"So if you see that there are people who want to join on a voluntary basis, especially not for money, and help people residing in Donbass, well, we should meet them halfway," Putin said.
Thus, Russia has indirectly acknowledged a shortage of combat-ready units and is itself initiating the internationalization of the war with the involvement of fighters from the Middle East. There is no doubt that these are Syrian and Libyan fighters who work closely with the Russian side.
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