There is no shortage of poor and desperate Russians that are willing to become Mercenaries. When the Russians use these forces against Slavic people like Ukrainians, they typically draw on men from far off regions (around the Stans or Siberia or Chechens) that have little in common with the local population they are attacking. Many of these types fought along Russians living in Ukraine and provided support while the Russian Military called the shots and directed traffic and weapons into the war zone. I was over joyed when the US killed about 200 + of them in Syria when they thought they could attack US Military positions without consequences. 200 hundred less to return to Russia and kill Ukrainians in Donbas.