MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. /TASS/. Nine villages have been taken under the control of Russian forces in course of an offensive in the Zaporozhye region, Vladimir Rogov, leader of the We Are Together with Russia movement, said on Sunday.

"Our troops are holding the initiative along the combat engagement line in the Zaporozhye region. The enemy has been driven out of nine villages in exploratory attacks and these villages have been taken under control. These are quite big successes," he said in an interview with the Voskresny Vecher (Sunday Evening) with Vladimir Solovyov program on the Rossiya-1 television channel.

Fighting in the Zaporozhye region intensified dramatically on January 20 when four Orekhovo neighborhoods were taken under control by Russian forces. On the same day, the Russian defense ministry reported the liberation of the settlement of Lobkovoye in the Zaporozhye region. It was reported later that Russian forces had advanced toward the city of Gulyaipole and taken under control several Ukrainian army’s strongholds.