MELITOPOL, May 19. /TASS/. About 65,000 Ukrainian troops are amassed along the engagement line in the Zaporozhye Region or close to it, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together with Russia public movement, told TASS on Friday.

"Currently, about 65,000 militants are positioned along the Zaporozhye engagement line or maximally close to it. This is a great number, to say nothing about large enemy forces present in the [Kiev-controlled] logistics centers in the city of Zaporozhye, Dnepropetrovsk (presently Dnepr] and other [cities]," he said.

Acting Zaporozhye Region Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said on May 18 that Ukrainian troops had missed an opportunity to organize a counteroffensive in the region in the fall of 2022.

The acting governor repeatedly said that a powerful defensive line had been set up along the engagement line in the Zaporozhye area. On his part, Rogov said that the Zaporozhye direction could become a priority area for Ukrainian troops due to Kiev’s plans to seize the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, reach the Azov Sea and cut through the land bridge to Crimea.

Regular reports have been coming about the deployment of Ukrainian army units, equipment and foreign mercenaries to the Zaporozhye area. Kiev’s anticipated counteroffensive has been speculated in the media for several months now, with various dates mentioned.