Info about occupation of Ternovate and Richne villages in Zaporizhia region untrue – Voloshin

Information disseminated by Russians about the alleged occupation of the villages of Ternovate and Richne in Zaporizhia region is untrue, Vladyslav Voloshin, a representative of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

"The information that Russians have taken control of the village of Ternovate is untrue. Firstly, this village is located at least 15 kilometers from the line of contact," the spokesperson noted.

Secondly, as Voloshin explained, the enemy employed its "favorite infiltration tactic" in this village. Several days ago, an enemy sabotage group, taking advantage of difficult weather conditions, secretly infiltrated the village.

"They even filmed several spots where they were unfurling flags using drones, but within literally an hour, if not less, the Defense Forces conducted reconnaissance and search operations in this village and carried out a clearing operation. Therefore, the enemy group was eliminated," Voloshin stated.

The spokesperson recalled footage from a video that recently circulated online, showing Ukrainian soldiers using a ground-based robotic system to take Russians captive. According to Voloshin, this took place in this very town—an operation to clear and destroy a Russian sabotage group.

Speaking about the village of Richne, near Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhia region, the spokesperson also denied the Russians' claim of occupation.

"This settlement is under the control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The Russians can't even enter and consolidate their position in Prymorske, and then there's Richne. Therefore, the settlement is under our control, and the Russians haven't made any successful attempts to even enter or infiltrate it," Voloshin said.