LUGANSK, December 23. /TASS/. The liberation of Prilipki in the Kharkov Region allowed Russian servicemen to occupy both banks of the Seversky Donets River, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"The liberation of Prilipki became possible after our servicemen increased their forces and resources in the Staritsa area. In principle, significant successes have been achieved in this area in a very short time. Now, our servicemen occupy both banks of the Seversky Donets River," he said.

Earlier, the Defense Ministry reported that Russian forces had liberated Prilipki.