MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops are not strong enough to retake villages in the Kharkov Region won by Russian forces, head of the regional military-civilian administration Vitaly Ganchev told Channel One.

"In the Kupyansk direction, the situation remains the same, as [Russia] keeps all settlements which were liberated earlier under control, and Ukrainian troops are not strong enough to retake them, with the Kupyansk-Svatovo road section being controlled by our guys," he said.

Nor are the Ukrainians having any success in the northern region, Ganchev said. The enemy has been using increasingly more mercenaries, he added. "According to our information, [Ukraine has added] a very large number of mercenaries over the past month. Locals hear Western languages, mostly French, being spoken. This [increase in mercenaries fighting for Ukraine - TASS] may have been caused by heavy [Ukrainian] losses," he explained.