MELITOPOL, January 16. /TASS/. Militants from the Kraken Regiment and the Azov Battalion (outlawed in Russia), active along the line of contact in the Zaporozhye Region, have killed seven Ukrainian troops and left another 18 wounded since mid-December, Chairman of the We Stand With Russia movement Vladimir Rogov told TASS.

"The number of conflicts involving weapons has dramatically increased along the Zaporozhye line of contact, with Nazis from the Kraken and Azov battalions using violence and threats against [service members from] the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ territorial defense units, consisting of forcibly mobilized Zaporozhye residents. About ten shootouts and out-and-out gun fights against territorial defense members have occurred since mid-December.

Seven people were killed and 18 are currently hospitalized in Zapozorhye’s City Hospital Number 9, some of them in serious condition. They are all territorial defense troops who suffered wounds and injuries because they did not want to fight. They either fled or refused to fulfill illegal orders," Rogov said.

According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine claim that these service members were killed in military action, which is not true. "Kraken and Azov serve as anti-retreat units, forcing Zaporozhye residents to take part in the hostilities. Officials will say otherwise, but these people, who were tortured or wounded, as well as their family members, will know the real cause of those wounds and deaths," Rogov added.