MELITOPOL, November 11. /TASS/. The command of the Ukrainian armed forces is increasing the group of foreign mercenaries in the Zaporozhye direction, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the 'We Are Together with Russia’ movement, told TASS on Friday.
"The total number of foreign mercenaries in the Zaporozhye direction is much bigger than five thousand Poles," he said, without specifying the total number of mercenaries or combined Ukrainian forces in the region. According to his estimates from October 31, the group of mercenaries of different nationalities in the Ukrainian-controlled territory of the Zaporozhye Region amounted to over 7,000 people.
"The mercenaries mostly make up barrier troops, if we are talking about the Poles. The assault troops, made up of Ukrainian citizens, are directly on the front line, they are thrown in to be slaughtered. Now a fist is being formed, and it is multi-layered: first come the Ukrainian servicemen and the territorial defense forces, which are thrown into battle first. They are backed up by the Poles and national battalions, then come the special operations forces and mercenaries. That is how they try to break through," Rogov said.
He recalled that the presence of militants from 34 countries was confirmed on the Zaporozhye line of contact a week ago. Rogov earlier told TASS that regular units of the Polish armed forces, legalized through the so-called Ukrainian Foreign Legion, are acting as Polish mercenaries.