Western Countries Sending Mercenaries To Ukraine: Russian Defense Ministry

NEW DELHI: Western countries have increased the dispatch of mercenaries from private military companies to the combat areas in Ukraine, said Major General Igor Konashenkov, official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Western countries have increased the number of private military company contractors sent to combat areas," he said, RT reported.

On Thursday, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the arrival of the first of 16,000 foreign mercenaries on the territory of the state.

Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia Alexander Bastrykin instructed the investigators of the central office of the department to register the facts of the participation of mercenaries in the commission of crimes on the territory of Ukraine, the report said.

Russia has captured its first major city in Ukraine after a week of fighting, with Kherson - a regional capital of 300,000 people on the Black Sea - now under the control of Putin's forces, Daily Mail reported.

Igor Kolykhaiev, the city's mayor, said in an update that 'armed visitors' had stormed a council meeting and imposed new rules including a strict curfew and urged citizens to follow them. But it was far from clear whether Ukrainian forces had totally withdrawn, with the UK Ministry of Defence saying on Thursday the situation is 'unclear'.

If Kherson is under full Russian control, then it opens up Odessa - Ukraine's main port city and primary naval base - to an assault. Amphibious landing ships were seen forming up off the west coast of Crimea Thursday morning as US officials warned a major assault from the sea could come later in the day, Daily Mail reported. (IANS)

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