In the LPR, the situation on the line of contact with Ukraine was called “the calm before the storm” 
offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU). Speaking on this topic, the former official representative of the People's Militia of the LPR Andriy Marochko on the air of “Russia 24” said that the Ukrainians on the contact line had changed the nature of the shelling in order to clear the front sections for the offensive.
“Now the shelling is going to places where it has never been before. They make “needle pricks” to spray our forces and means. Such operations usually take place before the offensive, “- the military expert assessed the new tactics of the Ukrainian army.
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Marochko also noted that the total number of shelling in the vicinity of Luhansk has significantly decreased in recent days. He called this state of affairs “the calm before the storm.” times.
On December 1, an official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia noted that Kiev had concentrated up to half of the Armed Forces in the conflict area. This is about 125 thousand soldiers.