LUGANSK, November 21. /TASS/. Russian forces have pushed Ukrainian troops by some 10 km away from Lisichansk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) and reduced the intensity of the city’s shelling, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS on Thursday.
"Our troops have taken new lines and positions northwest of Zolotaryoka as a result of successful operations. The Ukrainian armed formations have had to leave their positions and retreat to the second and third defensive lines. Therefore, the Ukrainian militants have been pushed away by an average of 10 km from the outskirts of Lisichansk, which has deprived them of the possibility to employ some weapons for shelling the city’s civilian infrastructure and civilians," the military expert said.
Marochko told TASS on October 16 that the Ukrainian combat group was still positioned near three settlements in the west of the Lugansk People’s Republic: in the area of Svatovo, west of Kremennaya and southwest of Lisichansk. He said that the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic was less than 1% occupied by Ukrainian armed formations.