‘A complex situation.’ Ukrainian troops approach the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic. • Meduza • RIMA

‘A complex situation.’ Ukrainian troops approach the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic.

Andrey Marochko, a spokesman for the so-called People’s Militia of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) says that Ukrainian troops are approaching the border of the self-proclaimed republic, reports news agency TASS.

In some areas, the line of contact is about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border of territory controlled by the self-declared republic, he said on air on Russia-1. “That’s very little, in terms of military operations,” he said, stressing that “the situation really is complex.”

Marochko emphasized, however, that the territory of the self-proclaimed LNR is “fully controlled” “by the people’s militia” and “allied forces.” He noted, though, that shelling from Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) “has grown exponentially” in recent days.

Red dots indicate recent events, grey dots earlier ones. Black indicates the line of contact as of the latest update; red and blue areas indicate regions occupied (since the beginning of September) by Russian and Ukrainian forces, respectively – if you click on them they will provide more information, including sources (in Russian). Air strikes are marked with a special icon, ground operations with dots. If the map doesn’t work try opening it separately in a browser.

A small part of the Luhansk region – near the village of Verkhnekamenskoye – was not controlled by the self-proclaimed LNR even before the UAF counteroffensive. In recent days, the front line has approached the Luhansk region from other points as well, including Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and Yampil in the Donetsk region.
In the end of August and beginning of September the Ukrainian army launched a large-scale counteroffensive in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions, during the course of which they regained control of 6,000 square kilometers (2,300 square miles), Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 13.
Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk regional administration, said on September 14 that a regional headquarters for deoccupation had already been created. However, he warned people to remain patient. “We won’t be in Luhansk tomorrow, unfortunately, but soon,” he wrote.