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‘New realities on the ground': Russia claims advance in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk amid stalled peace talks
Russia said on Sunday its forces had advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk amid a public row between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of bodies of soldiers who fell in the war. read more
A soldier from the Ukrainian 33rd Separate Mechanised Brigade trains to hold a position during an extraction exercise at an undisclosed location in eastern Ukraine on June 6, 2025. Image- AP
Russia announced Sunday that its forces have made a breakthrough into Ukraine's eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in the three-year conflict as peace talks remain stalled and fighting continues to ravage the region.
Amid talk of peace, the war is stepping up with Russian forces grabbing more territory in Ukraine and Kyiv unfurling high-profile drone and sabotage attacks on Russia's nuclear-capable bomber fleet and, according to Moscow, on railways.
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Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190 square km (73 square miles) of the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine in less than a month, according to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps.
Now, according to the Russian defence ministry, units of the 90th Tank Division of the Central Grouping of Russian forces have reached the western frontier of Ukraine's Donetsk region and are attacking the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk region.
Moscow has consistently rejected international calls, including those from Ukraine, European leaders, and former US President Donald Trump, for a comprehensive ceasefire. Instead, it has insisted on recognition of its claimed territories as a precondition for any peace agreement. In talks held in Istanbul on June 2, Russia reiterated demands that Ukraine formally accept the annexation of the five regions—an outcome Kyiv has firmly rejected.
Earlier negotiations last month saw Ukraine warn that Russia threatened to escalate its military operations should Kyiv refuse to surrender.
The conflict has exacted a devastating toll: tens of thousands killed, millions displaced, and widespread destruction across eastern Ukraine due to persistent air strikes and ground combat.
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the country's security council, underscored the significance of the new advance, warning Kyiv on social media that failure to accept the 'realities' of war in talks would lead to 'new realities on the ground.'
Tens of thousands have been killed in Russia's three-year war, millions forced to flee their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground combat.
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Russia's ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the national security council, said the fresh advance was a warning to Kyiv.
'Those who do not want to recognise the realities of the war at negotiations, will receive new realities on the ground,' he said on social media.
With inputs from agencies
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