Putin welcomes volunteers to join fight as new assault on Kyiv expected within days
Russian forces are bearing down on Kyiv and regrouping north-west of the Ukrainian capital, satellite pictures show Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he wanted to allow volunteers to fight against Ukrainian forces and approved handing over captured western missile systems to Russian-backed rebel fighters. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu proposed handing over US-made anti-tank systems, such as Javelin and Stinger, to fighters from the rebel regions of Luhansk and Donetsk. Mr Putin, at a Russian security council meeting, said he supported such an idea, Reuters reported. He also said that those who wanted to volunteer to fight with Russian-backed forces should be allowed to do so. Mr Shoigu said there were 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East who were ready to come to fight with Russian-backed forces. Moscow could now be planning an assault on the city within days, the UK said on Friday. "Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed off...