JAKARTA - Russian mercenaries have been deployed to separatist-held eastern Ukraine in recent weeks to strengthen defenses against Ukrainian government forces as tensions between Moscow and the West escalate, four sources told Reuters.
In recent weeks, Russia has moved tens of thousands of regular troops to posts closer to Ukraine and followed up by demanding urgent security guarantees from the West designed, Moscow said, to prevent Ukraine and other neighboring countries from being used as bases to attack it. .
Of the four sources, three described their offer of a mercenary recruiter to go to Donbass. They said recruiters did not disclose who they represented. The four sources declined to be named, citing concerns for their safety.
Two of the three sources said they had received; the third said he had refused.
"There are houses full. They gather everyone with combat experience," said one of the two who received, quoted by Reuters December 24.
The source further said that he had previously fought in Ukraine and Syria for a group of Russian security contractors whose operations were closely aligned with Russia's strategic interests. However, he declined to identify the contractor.
The fighter said he plans to join fellow mercenaries on the Russian side of the border with the separatist-held Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.
Separately, the Kremlin said it had nothing to do with private Russian military contractors whose operations it described as volunteers with no connection to the state.
"This is the first time we've heard about this and we don't know how reliable these statements are," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
Peskov said there were no regular Russian troops or military advisers in eastern Ukraine and there never were, as Moscow was not considering sending them. However, Kyiv denies this and says regular Russian troops are present.
Alexander Ivanov, head of the Community of Officers For International Security, a non-governmental group representing Russian contractors in the Central African Republic, said he had "not a single confirmation" that Russian mercenaries had been deployed to Ukraine.
Three of the sources said they were not aware of any plans for a new Russian attack on Ukraine or preparations that would suggest one was coming.
One of the sources, a contractor who has taken part in Russian operations abroad and has arrived in eastern Ukraine, said the deployment was for defense purposes. The first mercenary said the same thing.
Separately, another source said he was not directly involved in the deployment, but was in contact with people on the ground undergoing specialized training. He said the purpose of the deployment was what he called sabotage activities to undermine stability in Ukraine.
The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) proclaimed its independence from Ukraine in 2014 after separatist fighters took control of parts of eastern Ukraine. Backed by Russia, its self-proclaimed status has not been recognized internationally.
Alexander Borodai, former prime minister of the House of Representatives and head of the Donbass Volunteers Union, said his organization was not involved in recruiting mercenaries for eastern Ukraine. Members of his organization previously fought in Ukraine and Syria.
"If and when needed, we will call people. But there has been no call for now," said Borodai, who is also a member of parliament for Russia's ruling United Russia party.
Meanwhile, separatist spokesman Eduard Basurin said he knew nothing about the recent deployment of Russian security contractors to eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's military intelligence service declined to comment, while the state security service did not respond to requests for comment.
To note, the West and Ukraine on their side accuse Russia of considering a new attack on its southern neighbor as soon as next month, something Moscow denies.
Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and backed pro-Russian separatists who seized much of eastern Ukraine's Donbass industrial estate that same year, and continue to battle Ukrainian government forces there.
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