MOSCOW, December 22. /TASS/. The existing line of defense against Ukrainian forces in the Zaporozhye Region is very strong, acting head of the region Yevgeny Balitsky said Thursday.

"The Ukrainians are gathering a rather large grouping, we see it, we track its every step. We are not letting them amass for a serious strike, although we are ready for it. And the current fortification line for the Zaporozhye Region is very strong. Today, the efforts taken by the Russian government to reinforce the second and the third line of defense have been validated. I can say as the head of Zaporozhye Region that the military-civilian administration was greatly involved. They provided us with lumber [and] all the trenches have been reinforced," he told reporters Thursday.

Earlier, head of the "We are Together with Russia" movement Vladimir Rogov told TASS that the Ukrainian armed forces continue to beef up their groupings at the contact line near Orekhovo and Gulyaypole in the Zaporozhye Region. According to Rogov, vehicles first arrive in the city of Zaporozhye, and from there move to Orekhovo, Gulyaypole and the settlement of Kamenskoye.