* This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine.

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. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)