MOSCOW, June 4. /TASS/. Russian troops have slowed down their advance in the Kharkov area as the Ukrainian military has brought in reserves, head of the regional military-civilian administration Vitaly Ganchev said during a live broadcast on Russia’s TV Channel One on Tuesday.

"The advance continues, even if it has slowed down now. The Kiev regime is trying to throw as many forces as possible into this Kharkov meat grinder in the northern part [of the region] and also in the eastern part where they are losing their positions. They are mobilizing human resources in the city and in the region and immediately throwing unprepared personnel into the frontline area. Hence the result. The amount of the reserves that they have brought in to halt the movement of our armed forces is large enough but untrained mobilized soldiers make up the greater part of it," he said.

Ganchev told TASS earlier that Russian troops had liberated about a half of Volchansk in the Kharkov Region. The town is divided by the Volchya River and the bridges across it have been blown up by the Ukrainian military.