OREANDA-NEWS  Russian troops have made significant progress in the direction of the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region in a few days, military expert, retired Lt. Colonel of the LNR Andrei Marochko told RIA Novosti.

"In a few days, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have significantly advanced in the direction of the settlement of Kupyansk. A number of eastern territories of the Kharkiv region have also been liberated," the expert told RIA Novosti, citing his own sources. According to Marochko, the advance of Russian troops forces the Ukrainian authorities to evacuate state institutions from the Kharkiv region, and businessmen with a pro-Ukrainian position "wind down their business and move it to Western Ukraine."