LUGANSK, December 22. /TASS/. Ukrainian military units intensified their activities in the Kharkov direction last week, but the initiative in this area remains with the Russian Armed Forces, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"Active combat operations continued over the past week on the western borders of the Lugansk People's Republic. The Russian Armed Forces consolidated their previous gains and continued to build on their success across the entire front. There has been an increase in enemy activity in the Kharkov Region. Overall, the initiative was on our side, and the positive momentum of the Russian troops continued," he said after analyzing the Russian Defense Ministry’s reports.

Marochko recalled that last week, Russian servicemen liberated the village of Novoplatonovka in the Kharkov Region.