Russia claims crucial Ukraine advance as peace talks stall
Russia stated Sunday that it was advancing into Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year invasion, a considerable territorial escalation amidst stalled peace talks.
Russia said Sunday that it was advancing into Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region for the very first time in its three-year invasion, a considerable territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks. Ukraine’s leading political and military leaders did not right away react to the claim of the advance, which would be a symbolic and tactical blow after months of battlefield problems. Moscow, which has the initiative throughout much of the front, has actually consistently declined calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for a genuine ceasefire even as it holds talks with Kyiv on a possible settlement to the war. Russia’s defence ministry stated forces from a tank system had “reached the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and are continuing to establish an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk area”. There was no reaction from leaders in Kyiv to the claims, Ukraine’s southern army command stated Russia “does not provide up its intents to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region, however our fighters are fearlessly and expertly holding their section of the front line”. Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian areas– Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea– that Moscow has publicly declared as Russian area. In a set of peace demands released to Ukraine during negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, Moscow demanded formal recognition that these areas were part of Russia, something Kyiv has repeatedly dismissed. At a first round of talks last month, Ukraine stated Russia threatened to speed up and expand its offending if Kyiv did not capitulate. 10s of countless people have been killed in Russia’s three-year war, with millions forced to leave their cities and homes and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by ruthless air attacks and ground combat. Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the nationwide security council, stated the latest advance was a cautioning to Kyiv. “Those who do not wish to identify the realities of the war at settlements, will get new truths on the ground,” he stated on social media. Russia’s army published photos showing soldiers raising the Russian flag over the village of Zorya in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, close to the internal border. A Ukrainian lieutenant colonel, 60-year-old Oleksandr, stated that Russians getting in the area would not alter the dynamics of the battle. “They are advancing slowly, extremely gradually, but they are advancing,” he informed AFP in the town of Mezhova, around a dozen kilometres from the border in between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk areas. A single person was killed there in an overnight bomb attack. Oleksandr stated he stayed defiant. “They might say all of Ukraine comes from them. Saying it is one thing. I do not believe it will drastically change the scenario. Our resistance will stay the same.” Dnipropetrovsk had actually an estimated population of three million before Russia introduced its offensive. Around one million individuals resided in the regional capital, Dnipro. It is an essential mining and industrial hub for Ukraine, and much deeper Russian advances into the area could have a serious effect on Kyiv’s struggling military and economy. Ukrainian military workers formerly told AFP that Russia might advance fairly rapidly in the mostly flat region, provided there were fewer natural challenges or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv’s forces. The region, and in specific the city of Dnipro, has actually been under relentless Russian strikes since Moscow attacked in February 2022. Russia used Dnipro as a testing ground for its “experimental” Oreshnik missile in late 2024, claiming to have struck an aeronautics production facility. Ukraine also stated Sunday that a prisoner exchange– the only agreement reached at the Istanbul talks– would begin “next week” after both sides implicated each other of trying to postpone the swap and prevent. Moscow stated Ukraine was refusing to accept take back the bodies of killed soldiers, while Kyiv said Russia had not sent out the names of more than 1,000 captured soldiers to be launched. Both sides had actually said days previously the exchange might happen this weekend. “The Russian side, as normal, is trying to play a filthy, political, info game,” Zelensky stated in his night address. If Russia fails to abide by the arrangement, it “will cast excellent doubt” on diplomatic efforts to end the three-year war, he added. bur-jc/js
Russia stated Sunday that it was advancing into Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region for the very first time in its three-year invasion, a significant territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks. Russia’s defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had “reached the western border of the Donetsk Individuals’s Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region”. There was no reaction from leaders in Kyiv to the claims, Ukraine’s southern army command said Russia “does not give up its intents to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region, but our fighters are bravely and expertly holding their area of the front line”. At a very first round of talks last month, Ukraine said Russia threatened to speed up and broaden its offending if Kyiv did not capitulate. Moscow stated Ukraine was declining to concur to take back the bodies of killed soldiers, while Kyiv stated Russia had actually not sent the names of more than 1,000 captured soldiers to be released.
