MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Russian forces are taking all highland areas in the north of the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) under control, thus creating favorable conditions for advancing further, the LPR’s former Ambassador to Moscow Rodion Miroshnik said on Wednesday.

"We have been advancing, at least, in the north of the Lugansk People’s Republic, and we are taking all the high ground which simply gives us a better opportunity to advance," he told NTV.

Commenting on the developments in Artyomovsk, Miroshnik said that Ukraine’s armed forces may well leave a group of up to 10,000 servicemen in the city. "That is, Ukraine will either pull its units out of Artyomovsk, <...> or they will be left inside the cauldron to be disposed of as the ring around the city closes," he added.

Acting LPR Head Leonid Pasechnik said earlier that the Ukrainian military had been accumulating ample forces for a counteroffensive on the LPR border.