Russia Claims Key Ukraine Advance as Peace Talks Stall
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.
Russia stated Sunday that it was advancing into Ukraine’s eastern Dnipropetrovsk region for the very first time in its three-year intrusion, a significant territorial escalation in the middle of stalled peace talks. Ukraine’s leading political and military leaders did not immediately respond to the claim of the advance, which would be a symbolic and tactical blow after months of battleground problems. Moscow, which has the effort throughout much of the front, has repeatedly declined calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for an unconditional ceasefire even as it holds talks with Kyiv on a possible settlement to the war. Russia’s defence ministry said forces from a tank system had “reached the western border of the Donetsk Individuals’s Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk area”. Although there was no action 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, however our fighters are fearlessly and professionally holding their section of the front line”. Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions– Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea– that Moscow has actually openly claimed as Russian area. In a set of peace needs provided to Ukraine during negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, Moscow required official acknowledgment that these areas belonged to Russia, something Kyiv has actually consistently eliminated. At a preliminary of talks last month, Ukraine said Russia threatened to speed up and broaden its offending if Kyiv did not capitulate. 10s of thousands of people have been eliminated in Russia’s three-year war, with millions required to leave their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground battle. Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the nationwide security council, said the latest advance was an alerting to Kyiv. “Those who do not want to recognise the truths of the war at negotiations, will get new truths on the ground,” he stated on social media. Russia’s army posted pictures showing soldiers raising the Russian flag over the village of Zorya in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, near the internal border. A Ukrainian lieutenant colonel, 60-year-old Oleksandr, stated that Russians entering the region would not change the dynamics of the battle. “They are advancing slowly, very gradually, however they are advancing,” he told AFP in the town of Mezhova, around a dozen kilometres from the border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions. A single person was eliminated there in an over night bomb attack. Oleksandr said he remained bold. “They could state all of Ukraine belongs to them. Saying it is one thing. I don’t think it will significantly alter the circumstance. Our resistance will stay unchanged.” Dnipropetrovsk had an approximated population of three million before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million individuals lived in the local capital, Dnipro. It is a crucial mining and commercial hub for Ukraine, and much deeper Russian advances into the region could have a major impact on Kyiv’s having a hard time military and economy. Ukrainian military workers formerly told AFP that Russia could advance fairly rapidly in the largely flat area, given there were less natural barriers or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv’s forces. The area, and in specific the city of Dnipro, has been under consistent 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 center. Ukraine also said Sunday that a prisoner exchange– the only agreement reached at the Istanbul talks– would start “next week” after both sides accused each other of trying to postpone the swap and ward off. Moscow said Ukraine was declining to accept take back the bodies of eliminated soldiers, while Kyiv said Russia had actually not sent the names of more than 1,000 caught soldiers to be launched. Both sides had actually stated days earlier the exchange might happen this weekend. “The Russian side, as normal, is attempting to play an unclean, political, info video game,” Zelensky said in his evening address. If Russia fails to adhere to the agreement, 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 intrusion, a substantial territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks. Russia’s defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had “reached the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region”. There was no response from leaders in Kyiv to the claims, Ukraine’s southern army command stated Russia “does not give up its intentions to go into the Dnipropetrovsk area, but our fighters are fearlessly and expertly holding their section of the front line”. At a very first round of talks last month, Ukraine stated Russia threatened to speed up and broaden its offensive if Kyiv did not capitulate. Moscow said Ukraine was refusing to agree to take back the bodies of eliminated soldiers, while Kyiv stated Russia had actually not sent out the names of more than 1,000 caught soldiers to be launched.
