At least two news services, each on the other side on the globe from the other, are both reporting that upwards of 16,000 Middle-Eastern volunteers are on their way to Ukraine to fight with the invading Russians.
The El-Risala (The Message) news service of Amman, Jordan, and Breitbart.com are both reporting that not only has Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu verified that thousands of requests to volunteer to fight the Ukrainian Army, the so-called President of the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, Denis Pushlin, has stated that “thousands and thousands of volunteers are ready to come.”
Specifically, El-Risala is reporting (emphasis mine);
The President of the Donetsk People’s Republic, Denis Pushlin, said that volunteers, including from the Middle East, could join the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic in the very near future.
Pushlin said in an interview with the program 60 Minutes in Russia-1 channel (VGTRK).“There are a lot of requests from different countries. That is exactly what the president (Putin) was talking about – about volunteers from the Middle East”
“These thousands and thousands of volunteers are ready to come. I do not exclude that in the near future they will be with us in the neighboring trenches, together with our units for the liberation of the Donetsk People’s Republic, as well as the Luhansk People’s Republic.”
Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, said that a large number of requests are received from volunteers from different countries who want to come to the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in order to “participate in what they believe in the liberation movement.”
On the other side of the planet, Breitbart News has noted (emphasis mine);
The Russia-backed head of a separatist region in eastern Ukraine says he expects thousands of fighters from the Middle East to come to fight the Ukrainian forces.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the separatist government in the Donetsk region, said in remarks broadcast on Russian state television Saturday that “many thousands” of volunteers from the Middle East could shortly join the rebels and fight “shoulder-to-shoulder” against the Ukrainian army.
Pushilin’s remarks follow Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu’s comment on Friday that Russian authorities have received requests from over 16,000 people from the Middle East who are eager to join the Russian military action in Ukraine.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said his government has identified over 16,000 foreigners willing to fight with Russia in Ukraine. https://t.co/1aMixmcJEl
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 13, 2022