LUGANSK, November 29. /TASS/. Russian forces destroyed three Ukrainian strongholds and wiped out more than 20 members of Ukraine’s Azov nationalist battalion (designated as a terrorist organization and outlawed in Russia) as they advanced on the Kharkov Region, military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS.

"As our troops advanced, they delivered a powerful strike on the flank of the Ukrainian battlegroup located near the settlement of Kopanki," Marochko said. "In the strike, three [enemy] strongholds and more than 20 fighters from the 3rd separate assault brigade of the Azov armed units were wiped out," he specified.

According to Marochko, during their advance near Kopanki, which was liberated earlier this week, the Russian forces improved their tactical positions southwest of the locality as they also expanded their control zone at this sector of the line of engagement.

Marochko told TASS on Wednesday that Ukrainian commanders had dispatched Azov assault fighters to the area for counterattacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported the liberation of Kopanki on November 26.