KYIV — Russian forces have allegedly advanced into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time since the 2022 invasion, according to a statement by Moscow’s Defense Ministry on Sunday, as reported by Euro News. The Kremlin claims its troops are expanding their offensive after reaching the western edge of the Donetsk region, one of four Ukrainian territories illegally annexed by Russia.
Kyiv has flatly denied the claim, saying no Russian forces have breached Dnipropetrovsk’s borders. If confirmed, the advance would mark a significant blow to Ukraine’s overextended defenses as the war enters its third year with peace negotiations at a standstill.
In another alarming development, Russian troops are reportedly just kilometers from the northeastern city of Sumy, an area Ukraine reclaimed early in the war. Ukrainian officials have not commented on this latest threat.
Meanwhile, drone warfare between the two countries intensified over the weekend. Russia launched 49 drones and three missiles overnight, according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian defense systems intercepted or jammed 40 of the drones. Russia claimed to have downed 61 Ukrainian drones, including some near Moscow.
Civilian casualties continue to mount. In Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, one person was killed and another seriously injured in aerial strikes on Sunday. Saturday’s attack toll in Kharkiv rose to six dead and over two dozen wounded, local police reported.
In Russia, a Ukrainian drone strike injured five people in the Belgorod region and triggered a fire at a chemical plant in the Tula region, wounding two more. Drone activity also disrupted operations at Moscow’s Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports, with Domodedovo suspending flights twice in a single day.
As both sides trade blows by air and inch forward on the ground, hopes for a ceasefire seem increasingly distant.
