MOSCOW, August 30. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces have not penetrated the Russian armed forces’ first line of defense in the Zaporozhye direction, or taken the village of Rabotino, Zaporozhye Region Acting Governor Yevgeny Balitsky said, refuting claims made by a number of foreign media outlets.

"Whatever [Ukraine’s] Western handlers may be saying in the media today — and they say that the first line [of defense] has been penetrated — this is not the case. The first line has not been penetrated. Everyone who understands [the situation], who is at the positions [on the line of engagement] or at least near them at the moment, knows that the first line has not been breached. They have only approached the first line, this is the most important line of our defense, the main line. Moreover, they have not taken Rabotino. Our guys are quite firmly entrenched in the south of Rabotino," he said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

"We occupy the commanding heights. The enemy enters the ravine, which is a mistake, given that they are immediately shelled. The ravine in which they’ve entrenched themselves is simply a shooting range for us. We’ve allowed them [to advance] three to four kilometers into the ravine. They go in there, and then they can’t get out, because the manpower losses are colossal. For example, a company of about 100 servicemen goes in, which is about three to four platoons, and then only one comes out," Balitsky added.

On August 28, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar claimed that the Ukrainian armed forces had taken Rabotino under their control and continued to advance. Western media outlets then reported this statement as fact.

On Tuesday, Vladimir Rogov, leader of the We Are Together With Russia movement, told TASS that the Russian forces had taken several Ukrainian strongholds near the village of Verbovoye, east of Rabotino, and forced them to retreat.

On August 28, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov reported that Russian units had repelled seven Ukrainian attacks near Rabotino and Verbovoye in the Zaporozhye Region.