MELITOPOL, April 1. /TASS/. Russian troops seized two Ukrainian army strongholds northwest of the settlement of Verbovoye in the Zaporozhye Region, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together with Russia public movement, told TASS on Monday.

"There are successes northwest of Verbovoye and there has been some advance but it is important, considering that two major Ukrainian army strongholds have been placed under our control. One of them is intact while the other has been destroyed fully. Efforts are underway to restore it to use it a position for further combat operations," he said.

The Ukrainian military has started to use drones for laying minefields in that frontline area, Rogov said.

"Baba-Yaga drones are, understandably, slow-running. This is an agricultural drone. But the Ukrainian military is currently using these drones for laying minefields near Verbovoye in the Orekhov direction," he said.

Rogov told TASS on March 25 that Russian troops had breached Ukrainian defenses northwest of Verbovoye and advanced by 2 km in that frontline area.