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Ukrainian troops plan to use Zaporozhye city residents as human shield — activist

According to the activist, more than 1,500 apartments on the left bank of Dnepr are now occupied by militants

MOSCOW, October 17. /TASS/. The Ukrainian military is preparing to repeat the Mariupol scenario in the city of Zaporozhye, accommodating its officers in empty apartments next to the civilian population, said Vladimir Rogov, the chairman of the We Are Together with Russia public movement.

"Our enemies are really preparing the Mariupol scenario in Zaporozhye. This is what they do: they move into all apartments, whose owners have fled or are not loyal [to the Kiev government]," he told the ‘Sunday evening with Vladimir Soloviev’ TV show on Russia’s Channel One.

According to the activist, more than 1,500 apartments on the left bank of Dnepr are now occupied by militants.

"They live in small groups of around 5-7 people, not more, so that they could not be wiped out in just one strike," he said, adding that civilians are forced to live in nearby apartments, acting as a human shield.

So far, some 70% of the Zaporozhye Region has been liberated, with the region’s largest city of Zaporozhye still being controlled by Kiev.