Ukrainian forces have deployed units of foreign mercenaries across the entire contact line in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to the head of the republic. He said the move is intended to help Kyiv hold its positions.

These international formations have reportedly been sent to the border area between the DPR and Dnepropetrovsk region, as well as to the districts of Krasnoarmeysk (known in Ukraine as Pokrovsk), Konstantinovka, and Krasny Liman. Additional redeployments of foreign fighters are being tracked toward Kharkov region.

Earlier, Russian security sources also reported that mercenaries were being shifted to the Kharkov direction to prevent a possible encirclement of Ukrainian units in that sector.