LUGANSK, December 21. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops active in the Lugansk area are refusing to advance following numerous defeats, Commander of the Akhmat commando unit and Deputy Commander of the 2nd Army Corps of the Lugansk People’s Republic’s (LPR) People’s Militia Apty Alaudinov told reporters.

"A large number of enemy troops are killed every day. It got to a point where enemy forces started to refuse to go on the offensive. Their advance deep into our territories [the LPR] is totally out of the question," he pointed out.

Alaudinov noted that Ukrainian troops had focused all their efforts on holding their current positions but they were failing to do that. "The enemy is facing huge losses in our area of the frontline and is being pushed back," he said.

Alaudinov stressed that the situation in the Lugansk area has significantly improved in the past few months. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are now only making rare attempts to counterattack on certain parts of the frontline, suffering great manpower and equipment losses, while Russian troops used to repulse "five to seven counterattacks on all parts" of the frontline every day.