Russia has announced today that its forces have advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. This military move comes amid a public dispute between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of fallen soldiers’ bodies.
According to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps, Russian forces have captured additional territory, seizing over 190 square kilometers in Ukraine’s Sumy region in less than a month.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has ramped up its military actions, including high-profile drone and sabotage attacks targeting Russia’s nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, its railway infrastructure.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that its units of the 90th Tank Division, part of the Central Grouping of Russian forces, have reached the western frontier of Ukraine’s Donetsk region and are now pushing into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.
As the military stakes rise, Russia is pressing for international recognition of Crimea – a peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 – as well as four other Ukrainian regions it claims as its own. Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw its forces from these territories, a key point of contention in any potential peace talks.
