Source: Voice of Russia

According to reports from Donetsk, another group of US mercenaries has landed at the local airport, mercenaries that the ‘Maidan’-approved government in Kiev is going to use for a mop-up operation in the region.

Deputy Chief of People’s Self-Defence of Donbass, Sergei Tsyplakov, claims that 100 “soldiers of fortune” have arrived this time. Judging by US and UK press reports, the overall strength of the ground force that the Kiev-based government is going to send to the South-East of Ukraine makes up 1,800.

The US private military companies Blackwater and Greystone are the ones that are mentioned increasingly often. Blackwater is actually non-existent. It has changed its name several times and is now called Academi. It’s a biggest private army of the world. Blackwater is one of its subdivisions. 90 percent of orders of both companies come from the US Department of State, the Pentagon and even the White House. They can collect from 5,000 to 10,000 “soldiers of fortune” under their standards.

Tiffany Anderson of Greystone said on April 10th the organization has no soldiers deployed in the east or south of Ukraine. But this kind of denial is something quite ordinary for private armies, so hardly anyone will take that seriously.

The founder of Blackwater Erik Prince has told the ABC television company that they normally remain in close contact with the State Department, the CIA and the Pentagon, so it’s perfectly normal to remain super secretive.

Late last year, Prince published a book, Civilian Warriors. The Inside Story of Blackwater and the Unsung Heroes of the War on Terror. According to what he writes in his book, US agencies always ask them to do some job in far-away countries. “Soldiers of fortune” do that job, without commenting on it ever after. “The job we do is very serious, so no one should better know about it,” Erik Prince says.

Journalists asked him to explain his statement that President Obama is perfectly aware of what private armies in the US government’s service do.

“You claim in your book that your ties with President Obama are stronger than he will ever agree to admit. Just what does that mean?” the journalists asked.

“This means we are involved in the effort to carry out some key programmes that he sees as ones of vital importance to the United States,” he replied.

The strength of Blackwater and Greystone units for large-scale operations makes up normally 100 to 300 people. This means six hit squads have already been flown to Ukraine. The soldiers are paid 300 dollars to 1,500 dollars per day. According to the British press, the US pays 8 million dollars a month to have its private armies deployed in Ukraine.

According to a retired Lieutenant Colonel of a Russian security service, Andrei Popov, it is pretty difficult to identify Greystone or Blackwater mercenaries during an operation. They are normally made to look like local police or security service units.

“They are currently armed as the security service troops they are passing themselves off as. They carry Kalashnikov sub-machineguns and Makarov pistols, as well as our bulletproof vests. But they use closed communications channels, and that’s how they can be recognized as mercenaries. They are trained just as any task force, but are absolutely unscrupulous. They have no idea of human feelings, that’s why they are used for bloody suppressions of local protests.”

Also, the US may have recruited former task force soldiers, police officer or Marines of various nationalities for a specific operation, which looks like a private foreign legion.