Putin: Donbas militants obtain weapons from countries that 'sympathize with them'
Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his press conference, said that military equipment to the separatist-held territories of Ukraine could be supplied by countries "that sympathize with the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics."
Commenting on the presence of tanks and heavy artillery in the Donbas, Putin said that there are various kinds of conflicts and hostilities with the use of artillery and other weapons in many "hot spots" of the world.
"Where do they get it from? Probably, from the countries which sympathize with them. But this is their equipment, not foreign. I want to draw your attention to this. Speaking about the mercenaries, there are also French and Germans mercenaries. Let's deal with them, but they do not form the basis of these formations," said Putin.
In 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union recognized the fact that Russia is supplying weapons to the Donbas.
Russia has always claimed that the militants of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics do not receive weapons from Russia, and "obtain them on their own." "Most of these weapons were left in the mines of the Donbas and ended at the hands of rebels," said the representative of the Russian delegation to the International Court of Justice in the Hague.