The invasion of Ukraine is going as planned, Russian officials claim amid conflicting reports.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told leaders the offensive was on schedule, despite indications from U.S. and Western officials that the invasion was not going as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin intended due to unexpected strength from Ukrainian resisters.
“All is going according to the plan. We report to you here every day this week,” Shoigu told Putin during a televised Security Council meeting on Friday, according to CNN.
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Shoigu noted that Russian forces had received more than 16,000 applications from Middle Eastern volunteers, saying they wanted to help free Ukraine’s Donbas region, which Russia now recognizes as an independent republic.
“We receive a huge number of applications from all sorts of volunteers from different countries who would like to come to the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in order to participate in what they consider to be the liberation movement,” he continued.
The Russian defense minister requested that additional weapons be sent to the region so that they can “more effectively carry out the defense of their republics.”
Putin approved both the idea of admitting Middle Eastern volunteers and the request for more arms.
“If you see that there are people who want voluntarily, especially not for money, to come and help people living in Donbas, well, we need to welcome them and help them move to the war zone,” he said.
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Russia has continued its assault, including several airstrikes on Ukrainian cities. New satellite imagery appears to imply the Russian convoy heading for Kyiv is now “largely dispersed,” with artillery in “firing position.”
The Kremlin is attempting to justify its invasion by alleging without evidence that Ukrainians are developing weapons of mass destruction and bioweapons labs. U.S. intelligence officials have dismissed the claims as Russian disinformation. Putin requested an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting on Friday to present his “evidence” of the labs.
