New frontline in Ukraine is close to Luhansk separatist ‘border’ – TASS cites commander

MOSCOW (Reuters) – The frontline in eastern Ukraine is approaching the borders of territory claimed by the separatist Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), a senior Russian-backed LPR military commander told the TASS news agency on Wednesday.

Russian forces have seized control of the entire LPR – one of two regions that make up Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region – since first entering Ukraine on Feb. 24 with a stated aim of wresting the entire Donbas from Kyiv’s control.

But a lightning Ukrainian counteroffensive over the last week has driven Russian forces back and is bringing the new frontline closer to the LPR’s self-proclaimed borders, commander Andrey Marochko said on Wednesday.

(This story refiles to restore dropped attribution in headline).

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)