For the first time, Kyiv admitted on Tuesday that the Russian army entered the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine, an area previously spared from intense fighting. The spokesperson for the ‘Dniprop Operational Strategic Group’ of the Ukrainian army, Viktor Bryhobov, told AFP, ‘Yes, they have entered, and fighting continues.’ However, the Ukrainian army denies Moscow’s claims of full control over the villages of Zaporizke and Novohorivka. The Russian army first announced in July that its forces had advanced in the area without officially declaring control but claimed to have seized some towns. Meanwhile, the ‘Deep State’ battle monitor close to the Ukrainian army reported on Tuesday that Russia had ‘occupied’ these areas and is currently reinforcing its position and mobilizing infantry for further advances. Russian forces are making gradual progress in costly battles to control heavily damaged areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, often nearly deserted.

Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea – that Moscow has declared annexed. Ukraine’s admission of losing territory in this region coincides with stalled efforts toward a potential peace agreement.