“even the “Prime Minister” of Donetsk rebels admits the regular Russian army is there in Ukraine now.”
He said “Russian Volunteers”, not “Russian Army”.
While it might not be a big difference in real life, it is a huge difference in meaning, politically.
The paratroopers said they were ordered in.
He admits to thousands of them. That is the fact we can glean from his comment.
Thousands of Russian troops have invaded Ukraine, ordered by Putin.