Putin says Middle-Eastern militants operating in Ukraine

Moscow, March 5 ( /Sputnik) Russia has noticed the presence of militants from the Middle East and some European countries in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Saturday. “We are noticing the presence of militants from the Middle East, some European countries, we know it, we hear their speech on the airwaves. They are using so-called jihad-mobiles, when you fill a car with explosives and send it toward troops,” Putin said at a meeting with Russian airlines’ female personnel. He admitted that radicals exist in Russia, too, but unlike Ukraine, they are not let into the government. Putin also warned that Russia will view any country’s decision to declare a no-flight zone in Ukraine as involvement in the conflict and a threat to Russian armed forces. “We will immediately start considering them a party to the conflict, and it will not matter to what organizations they belong,” Putin said. /SPUTNIK GK