Are Foreign Mercenaries And Private Contractors Operating In Ukraine?

Has Blackwater Been Deployed To Ukraine? Notorious U.S. Mercenaries 'Seen On The Streets Of Flashpoint City' As Russia Claims 300 Hired Guns Have Arrived In Country -- Daily Mail

* Unidentified armed men seen on the streets of Donetsk in east Ukraine
* Russian diplomat claims 300 mercenaries had arrived in Kiev this week
* Mercenaries in the region could give Putin pretext for military action
* Donetsk has been the scene of big pro-Russian demonstrations this week

Speculation was growing last night that American mercenaries had been deployed to Donetsk after videos emerged of unidentified armed men in the streets of the eastern Ukrainian city.

At least two videos published on YouTube earlier this week show burly, heavily armed soldiers with no insignia in the city, which has been gripped by pro-Moscow protests.

In one of the videos onlookers can be heard shouting 'Blackwater! Blackwater!' as the armed men, who wear no insignia, jog through the streets.

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My Comment: I doubt that this story is true. "Blackwater" .... now known as Academi .... needs to get paid, and the Ukraine government is broke. But the question still begs itself .... who are these "soldiers" .... and who is paying them? I know that speculation is rife in eastern Ukraine that these men are Americans and that it is the U.S. that is paying them. Donetsk is in east Ukraine with a huge Russian population .... and in the videos it is clear that many spectators are not happy with this military presence .... a dangerous situation because this could be a spark that can quickly descend into violence and Russian military intervention.