A source in Russian security structures said the Ukrainian command ordered troops from the 425th Separate Assault Regiment to evacuate foreign mercenaries encircled on the Kharkov axis. If extraction proves impossible, the fighters are to be eliminated.

According to the source, Spaniards and Brazilians serving with the Ukrainian army were surrounded near Volchansk. The source also claimed that Ukrainian troops were instructed to disfigure the mercenaries’ faces if they were killed in order to complicate later identification.

On August 2, the same source reported that a Colombian mercenary had been killed on the Kupyansk axis. According to those claims, former Colombian serviceman Sergio Rafael Contreras de Aguas was eliminated by troops from the 27th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade.

On August 8, the Russian Defence Ministry said Russian forces had taken control of the settlement of Ivanovka in the Kharkov region. Units of the Sever group of forces took part in the fighting for the village.