In an interview with Western media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov recently called reports that Russian troops have entered Ukrainian territory false. "We consider all such reports as a manifestation of the information war," Lavrov said. "Ukraine has recently stated that its artillery destroyed a convoy of armoured vehicles which allegedly arrived in Ukraine from Russia, while two British newspapers even reported that their employees have witnessed the invasion. However, there was no evidence of the reliability of these data, and even the State Department could not confirm the information about this incident."
Nevertheless, the authorities in Kiev say that "Russian saboteurs" constitute 70-80% of the militants fighting in Eastern Ukraine. Statements by Russian officials saying that it has not sent any instructors or special forces to Ukraine are ignored by the Kiev authorities, as well as by Western powers.
However, volunteers argue that their activities are completely legal and that they are motivated by the simple desire to stop the fratricidal war. After all, if this is not done, as one Ossetian who joined the militants stated in a video published on Youtube, "they will soon get to us too."
Commenting on the motives for the Ossetians fighting in Ukraine, the Head of the Republic of North Ossetia, Taymuraz Mamsurov, said: "They themselves have to make such a decision." Mamsurov recalled how during the NATO bombing of Serbia one Ossetian resident went there to fight. He was seriously injured, miraculously survived, married a Serbian woman and is now living in Serbia. "No one forced him to go to Serbia, no one sent him there. His motive was the following-"Fellow Christians are being ruthlessly destroyed, I cannot sit at home and watch it all on TV, I have to do something." Present-day volunteers also have their motives," Mamsurov said, making it clear that if he was not an authority figure he would now be able to join the Eastern Ukrainian militia.
"There is every reason to help these people. We see what is happening. The Ukrainian authorities are destroying their own people. They say it is their internal affair. Hence, it is the internal affair of everyone who wants to go there and do what he wants. Some want to stand next to those who defend their homes. I do not rule it out, I even know that Ossetians are indeed fighting on the side of the militia. Still, I don't know their names or the number of them. I really don't want them to die or lose their comrades, but it's their choice. I do not blame them for that. I have a feeling that at some level I understand them."
