The United States has detailed information on the strength, organization and command of the regular units of the Russian Armed Forces in Donbass, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations has said in an interview with the Echo of Moscow radio station.
“No matter what I say, someone will immediately resist against me, someone who doesn’t like one or other numbers but let me note that we have thoroughly studied this matter. We have a very detailed information on the commanders, the chain of command, the types of forces, their funding, the troop strength of regular Russian army, the number of specialized units, and the most of the forces are contracted soldiers”, - Volker claimed.
He acknowledged that the U.S. "did the same in other places where we used contractors as a supplement to U.S. military operations".
Volker added that the illegal armed formations carry out direct Russian command and control through a chain of command including regular troops, regular officers, but most of the forces are contracted soldiers paid by Russia.
The Special Representative has also noted that some of the participants of the illegal armed formations in Donbass are Ukrainian citizens recruited on a contract basis.
"Some of them are not Russian citizens, some are Serbians, some are from Belarus. As you know, they come from everywhere, but ultimately these are illegal armed groups in the territory of Ukraine. So in accordance with the terms of the Minsk agreements, these illegal armed groups must cease to exist", - U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine has said.