LUGANSK, April 16. /TASS/. The Russian Armed Forces are shaping the frontline for a potential offensive to the west of Ozernoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"According to the latest information, our troops are completing the consolidation of units in the Ozernoye-Krivaya Luka-Kaleniki sector. They are advancing and expanding the zone of control everywhere. Our assault units, which were advancing forward, are now linking up on the flanks, smoothing out the front line for a further advance westward," he said.

Earlier, Marochko told TASS that Russian troops, advancing to the southeast of Ozernoye, were bypassing a populated locality along the Seversky Donets River, thus pushing Ukrainian forces out of the settlement.