Russian security structures told RIA Novosti that the Ukrainian command reinforced the 127th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with foreign mercenaries in order to try to break the encirclement in the Kharkiv region.
According to the security officials, the destruction of the encircled Ukrainian forces continues in the northeast of the Kharkiv region. To break the encirclement, the Ukrainian command reinforced the assault groups of the 127th separate mechanized brigade with foreign mercenaries who had been recruited and had arrived in Ukraine very recently.
The agency's interlocutor stressed that Ukrainian troops continue to suffer serious losses in the pocket.
As Vasily Mezhevykh, head of the press center of the "Sever" grouping, reported on Saturday, in total since the beginning of the month more than 675 enemy soldiers, 16 armored fighting vehicles, ten automobiles, 13 quad bikes and 25 ground robotic systems have been destroyed in the encirclement.
On September 7, the Ministry of Defense stated that the army had encircled about 1,700 Ukrainian servicemen in the north of the Kharkiv region.
According to President Vladimir Putin, the elimination of the pocket will make it possible to push the line of contact back at least 20 kilometers from the border areas of the Belgorod region.