There were no mine barriers along the border with Russia from the Kharkov region, which the Ukrainian commanders had told their troops about, captured Ukrainian border guard Oleksandr Ilnytsky told Sputnik.
"You could say it's just one very big hole. It's very easy to get into, and there's nothing serious about it. We were let in and told that everything was already prepared there, that it was mined," he noted.
"They had told us there were mines just to stop us climbing anywhere," the captive said, adding that the Russian military came from a direction where they were not expected.
According to the Russian defense ministry, the village of Ivanovka in the Kharkov area was recently liberated. On Friday, the head of Russia-controlled territories in the region disclosed that the Russian troops would soon take control of the Volchansk city.