IZYUM, July 9. /TASS/. Russian special ops soldiers have eliminated at least three Polish mercenaries and wounded several more outside Dolgenkoye, Kharkov region, an officer of the special operations forces of the Western Military District told TASS on Saturday.

"The enemy squadron’s stronghold was spotted to the south of the village of Dolgenkoye on the outskirts of the woods. We engaged in the fight. Polish was heard during the engagement. We established in radio monitoring that three mercenaries had been eliminated and six more wounded. Then they went silent. Perhaps, their real casualties were higher," the officer said.

He added that a joint unit of Polish mercenaries and Ukrainian troops was stationed in the stronghold. Initial reports say that there were from 30 to 50 Poles. The officer told TASS that the wounded Polish mercenaries had been immediately evacuated from the stronghold in order to keep their numbers and armament secret. The Ukrainian troops were not evacuated.