Russia claims gains in Dnipropetrovsk region as Ukraine reports Intense clashes

Russia’s Ministry of Defence announced on Saturday that its forces had captured two villages in eastern Ukraine, including one located in the Dnipropetrovsk region — a new front where Moscow claims its troops are advancing.

Ukrainian forces have not confirmed the loss of the villages but have reported ongoing heavy fighting in the area.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on the situation across the 1,000-kilometre front line that the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk remains the focal point of battles, describing it as a key logistics hub. He also noted that Ukrainian forces had carried out "successful actions" in the northern Sumy region, where Russian troops have recently gained a foothold.

These frontline clashes come just three days after Ukrainian and Russian delegations held their third direct meeting in Türkiye, aimed at ending the nearly three-and-a-half-year-long war. While both sides reported progress on prisoner and remains exchanges, no breakthrough was achieved in terms of a ceasefire or a potential meeting between the countries' leaders.

The Russian military has been reporting daily advances, including the capture of villages, as part of its slow westward push.

On Saturday, the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed control of Zelenyi Hai in the Donetsk region and Maliivka, a village just over the border in Dnipropetrovsk. The ministry described Zelenyi Hai as "a key Ukrainian stronghold that secured approaches to the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk".

Notably, Dnipropetrovsk is not among the five regions that Moscow claims to have annexed — those being Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea, annexed in 2014.

Last month, Russia said its forces had crossed into Dnipropetrovsk region, and now claims control of at least two villages. Ukraine’s military has repeatedly denied that Russian forces hold ground in the area.

In its evening update, Ukraine’s General Staff reported that Zelenyi Hai had been targeted by Russian attacks 11 times in the past 24 hours, while Maliivka was among several villages where ten attacks had been repelled.

In his nightly address, President Zelensky said Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had identified Pokrovsk as an area requiring “special attention”, citing relentless attacks on the city.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov told national television that Russian troops were assaulting Pokrovsk in “a small but constant torrent that simply does not stop”.

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