ANADYR. Jan 10 (Interfax) - Russian volunteers who fought in Donbass before the start of the special military operation will get the conflict veteran status, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
Anadyr residents told Putin at a meeting on Wednesday about such a volunteer, who fought in Donbass in 2021, before the special military operation began. He was injured, decorated and went home, but did not qualify for the conflict veteran status.
"He was injured before the start of the special military operation, that's for starters. Secondly, he never was a member of the Armed Forces, he was a volunteer. [Yet] all of them should be equal with the people protecting [Russian interests] with arms at present. This is the order I have given to the defense minister, they should finalize the decision. They will definitely do so if they have not finalized it already," Putin replied.