MOSCOW 

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered on Friday to help fighters from the Middle East, "who want to support" the rebel regions of Donbas, come to Ukraine. 

Speaking at a meeting of the Russian Security Council in Moscow, Putin explained his decision by the presence of the Western mercenaries in the war zone in Ukraine.

"As for the gathering of mercenaries from all over the world and sending them to Ukraine, we see that they do not hide it, the Western sponsors of Ukraine, the Ukrainian regime, do not hide hiring mercenaries, they do it openly, ignoring all norms of international law.

"If you see that there are people who want to come on a voluntary basis, not for money, and support people living in Donbas, well, we need to come to meet them and help them move to the war zone," he said.

For his part, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu said the "rebel republics" got about 16,000 requests from foreigners willing to fight on their side.

Shoygu also suggested passing the trophy arms to the fighters of the separatist regions in Ukraine, which Putin approved.

Russia's war on Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the EU, US, and UK, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

People worldwide have been showing their solidarity with Ukraine in different ways, by sending medicines, food, clothes, raising funds, while many expressed their wish to join the Ukrainian army to fight against Russia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv has received more than 20,000 applications from foreigners who want to participate in the conflict on the Ukrainian side.

According to UN figures, 549 civilians have been killed and 957 injured in Ukraine since the start of the war, with the real toll feared to be higher.

More than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, recent data by the UN refugee agency showed.