Russia is not planning to send troops to the Donbas region "for now" but will do so in case of a "threat," AFP reported on Tuesday, citing Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko.

Russia's ratified friendship treaties with the "Luhansk People's Republic" (LPR) and the "Donetsk People's Republic" (DPR) included the provision of "military aid" but "speculation" on troop deployments should be avoided, said Andrei Rudenko.