LUGANSK, April 22. /TASS/. Russian forces are beginning an offensive towards the Malinovka settlement near the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

Earlier, Chief of the Russian General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov, stated that forward units of the Russian army were seven kilometers from Kramatorsk.

According to Marochko, Russian forces are advancing southwest from the Nikiforovka settlement outside Kramatorsk. "Our troops are currently building on their success and are beginning the fight for the settlement of Malinovka," he said.