Russian authorities insist the assault on Ukraine is proceeding according to plan, despite contradicting reports.
At a press conference, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu assured leaders the offensive was proceeding as planned, despite claims otherwise from U.S. and western authorities.
“Everything is proceeding according to plan.”
According to CNN, Shoigu addressed Putin during one televised Security Council conference. “We will present it to you here each day this week,” Shoigu said.
Applications From the Middle East
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced Russian troops got more than 16,000 requests from Middle Eastern volunteers who expressed a desire to assist in the liberation of Ukraine’s Donbas area, which Russia now acknowledges as an independent state.
Putin says Russia is going to recruit “volunteers” to fight against Ukraine and “help them make it to the combat zone.”
Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister, says the most “volunteers” are from the Middle East, where 16,000 people apparently want to fight for Donetsk and Luhansk. pic.twitter.com/8aur4Wt8JC
— max seddon (@maxseddon) March 11, 2022
As he went on to say, “We get a large number of application forms from a variety of volunteers from other countries who wish to travel to the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics to take part in what they regard as the liberation effort.”
Additional weapons should be sent to the region, says the Russian military minister. This way, the local forces can “more effectively defend their republics.”
President Vladimir Putin agreed with both the idea of taking in Middle Eastern volunteers and the request for more weapons.
Russia has escalated its offense, launching multiple attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent days.
As a result of new satellite images, it appears the Russian convoy going towards Kyiv has been “completely shattered,” with artillery in “firing position.”
New Allegations
The Kremlin is trying to make its invasion look more legitimate by saying, without giving any proof, Ukrainians are making weapons of mass destruction and biowarfare laboratories on their land.
Officials from the United States intelligence community have rejected the assertions as Russian misinformation.
On Friday, Putin sought an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council to submit his “proof” of the laboratories. The meeting was held on Saturday.
Russia also alleged Ukraine is planning to launch a chemical or biological strike on its forces, an allegation that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has categorically denied.
⚡️Zelensky on Russia's accusations that Ukraine is planning chemical attacks: "This worries me very much," he said, as Russia has repeatedly accused others of what it eventually does itself.
"If you do something like that against us, you will receive the most severe sanctions."
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 10, 2022
In a late-night message to his troubled country, Zelensky expressed concern over the situation.
“That bothers me so much because we have long been certain that if you want to uncover Russia’s plans, they are what Moscow charges others with,” he said.
“I consider myself a decent person, the president of a reasonable nation populated by reasonable individuals. I am a parent of two children.”
“Our territory hasn’t been used to produce chemical or biological weapons or any other weapons of mass devastation,” he claims. “Everyone in the world is aware of this.”
The Russian government has been consistently known to spread misinformation that it thinks will suit its own agenda in the war against Ukraine.
