Russian soldiers are being rotated to Zaporizhzhia region instead of Crimea

Volunteer and Zaporizhzhia Regional Council deputy Serhiy Lyshenko said this on Espreso TV. 

"Perhaps this is due to certain, let's say, damage to Crimea. Probably, in the Zaporizhzhia region, the Russian forces are used as reserves," Lyshenko noted.

According to him, it is not only the Russian units involved in the fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region that are being replaced.

"Zaporizhzhia region has been used as a kind of rotational foothold for the military fighting in the Kherson sector. Therefore, we are experiencing a certain saturation of the territory with Russian military," Lyshenko added.

He also spoke about people's attitudes toward the liberation of Melitopol.

"The mood has changed, and people realize that it will take a long time to liberate Melitopol by military means. They think it will be faster to liberate it politically, as a result of certain negotiations. This is influenced by the results of the summer counteroffensive and active Russian propaganda. The invaders say that Melitopol is forever part of the Russian Federation: 'Don't worry and take Russian passports'. In fact, there are few people who believe in Ukraine left there, because they are really disappointed and leave one way or another, staying in Europe, as a rule," he said.

• On November 1, Operational Command South's press center head Natalia Humeniuk said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces' actions in the Zaporizhzhia sector put pressure on the Russian troops in the Kherson region.