A Ukrainian force surrounded in Russia’s Kharkov Region continues to suffer losses under Russian air and artillery strikes, according to an unnamed representative of Russian security agencies cited by the media.

The source said intense fighting was underway in the Velikoburluk sector near Olkhovatka.

According to the official, Russian aircraft and artillery from the Sever Group are heavily striking concentrations of Ukrainian personnel inside the encircled area. Confirmed Ukrainian losses over the past 24 hours exceeded 90 personnel, the source told RIA Novosti.

Heavy clashes are also continuing in the northeastern part of the region. Russian units there are carrying out further strikes against Ukrainian forces that have also been surrounded.

In its September 9 battlefield report, the Russian Defense Ministry said troops from the Sever Group had disrupted two Ukrainian attempts to break through the encirclement.

According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces lost about 35 personnel over the course of the day, along with one armored combat vehicle, two quad bikes and four ground-based robotic systems.

On September 7, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that about 1 7000 Ukrainian fighters had been surrounded near Volchansk in northern Kharkov Region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin estimated the encircled territory at 460 square kilometers. He said it contained 27 settlements and that eliminating the surrounded Ukrainian force would allow the line of contact to be pushed at least 20 kilometers farther away from the border areas of Belgorod Region.