President Vladimir Putin has personally authorized the deployment of as many as 16,000 “volunteers” from the Middle East to join his forces who have struggled against fierce resistance in Ukraine. At a meeting of Russia’s Security Council on Friday, Putin was informed that thousands of mercenaries from Syria and other Middle Eastern nations were ready to come to fight alongside Russian-backed forces. “If you see that there are these people who want of their own accord, not for money, to come to help the people living in Donbass, then we need to give them what they want and help them get to the conflict zone,” Putin responded, according to Reuters news agency. Shortly after the meeting, the Russian Defense Ministry’s TV channel aired footage of what it claimed were Syrian fighters chanting pro-Russia statements and holding up the pro-Putin “Z” symbol.