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Korea Herald
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Russia advances to east-central Ukrainian region
Russia said Sunday that 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. Despite 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. Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190 square kilometers of the Sumy region of northeastern 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. "The enemy does not abandon its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region," Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces said on Telegram. "Our soldiers are courageously and professionally holding their section of the front, disrupting the occupier's plans. This work does not stop for a minute." Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia's Security Council, said the Dnipropetrovsk offensive showed that if Ukraine did not want to accept the reality of Russia's territorial gains in peace talks, then Moscow's forces would advance further. The pro-Ukrainian Deep State map showed Russian forces very close to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which had a population of more than 3 million before the war, and advancing on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region from several directions. A Ukrainian military spokesperson, Dmytro Zaporozhets, said that Russian forces were trying to "build a bridgehead for an attack" on Kostyantynivka, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of delaying the swap of prisoners of war and the return of the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers. Ukraine denied those claims. On Sunday, Russia said it was moving bodies towards the border and television showed refrigerated trucks containing the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers on the road in the Bryansk region. Ukraine, officials said, was playing politics with the dead. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged to press on with prisoner exchanges. "The Russian side is therefore, like always, even in these matters, is trying to play some kind of dirty political and information game," he said in his nightly video address. "We believe that the exchanges will continue and will do everything for this. If the Russians do not stand by agreements even in humanitarian matters, it casts great doubt on all international efforts — including those by the United States in terms of talks and diplomacy." Zelenskyy said he had reviewed commanders' reports about areas hit by heavy fighting, including near Pokrovsk, targeted by Moscow for months. He said the situation was "far from easy, but everything depends on the resilience of our units." US President Donald Trump, who says he wants an end to the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, on Thursday likened it to a fight between young children and indicated that he might have to simply let the conflict play out. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he did not think Ukraine's leaders wanted peace, after accusing them of ordering a bombing in Bryansk, western Russia, that killed seven people and injured 115 a day before talks in Turkey. Ukraine, which has not commented on the attack on a Bryansk bridge, has similarly accused Moscow of not seriously seeking peace, citing Russian resistance to an immediate ceasefire. Russia is demanding international recognition of Crimea, a peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them. Russia controlled 113,273 square kilometers, or 18.8 percent, of Ukrainian territory as of June 7, according to the Deep State map. That is an area bigger than the U.S. state of Virginia. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99 percent of the Luhansk region, over 70 percent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast. Putin told Trump on Wednesday that he would have to respond to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's bomber fleet and the bombings of the railways. Zelenskyy warned Ukrainians in his video message to be particularly attentive to air raid warnings in the coming days. The US believes that Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its attacks has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multipronged strike, US officials told Reuters. (Reuters)
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine denies Russian troop presence in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast amid offensive, describes situation as 'tense'
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the Ukrainian military's denial of the presence of Russian troops in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Russian forces continue their efforts to break into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces reported on June 8, saying that the situation around the 31st Separate Brigade's positions remains "tense." "The enemy has not abandoned its plans to enter Dnipropetrovsk Oblast," the Southern Defense Forces wrote on Telegram. "Our soldiers are bravely and professionally holding their section of the front, thwarting the occupier's plans." The comment follows the Russian Defense Ministry's June 8 claim that its forces had entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Despite the claims, Major Andrii Kovalev, a spokesperson for Ukraine's General Staff denied Russian troop presence in the region. "The information is not true. Fighting is ongoing in Donetsk Oblast. The enemy did not enter Dnipropetrovsk Oblast," Kovalev told Ukrainska Pravda. In a separate statement to CNN, Viktor Trehubov, a spokesperson for for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces said that "the Russians are constantly spreading false information that they have entered the Dnipropetrovsk region from the Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka directions, but (in neither place) is this information true.' The 31st Brigade is deployed in the Novopavlivka direction, where Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts converge. Since 2014, Russian aggression has heavily impacted Donetsk Oblast, while Dnipropetrovsk Oblast has remained free from direct incursions. The denials from Ukraine's militaary come amid continuing Russian offensives in eastern and northern Ukraine, along with escalating diplomatic efforts that have yet to yield a ceasefire. President Volodymyr Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa said on June 6 that Russia aims to occupy all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River and advance toward Odesa and Mykolaiv in a broader plan to sever Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, amid a renewed summer offensive. On May 21, Ukrainian officials rejected similar claims that Russian troops had reached Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's administrative boundary. Serhii Lysak, head of the regional military administration, called the reports "fake," citing doctored photos allegedly showing Russian soldiers in the area. The Ukrainian monitoring project DeepState analyzed one such image and determined it had been taken in Troitske, a village in Donetsk Oblast. As a precaution, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast began mandatory evacuations of children and families from four front-line villages in late April — Kolona Mezhova, Novopidhorodne, Raipole, and Sukhareva Balka — located just 5 to 15 kilometers from Russian positions. Despite the lack of verified ground incursions, Dnipropetrovsk has endured frequent Russian missile, drone, and aerial attacks since the full-scale invasion began. The ongoing Russian advance occurs as peace efforts remain stalled, and U.S.-brokered negotiations have failed to achieve a ceasefire. Read also: US expects Russia's retaliation for Operation Spiderweb to continue soon We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
CNA
a day ago
- Politics
- CNA
Russia advances to east-central Ukrainian region amid row over dead soldiers
MOSCOW/KYIV: Russia said on Sunday (Jun 8) 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. 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. Russia, which controls a little under one-fifth of Ukrainian territory, has taken more than 190 sq km 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. "The enemy does not abandon its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region," Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces said on Telegram. "Our soldiers are courageously and professionally holding their section of the front, disrupting the occupier's plans. This work does not stop for a minute." Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said the Dnipropetrovsk offensive showed that if Ukraine did not want to accept the reality of Russia's territorial gains in peace talks then Moscow's forces would advance further. The pro-Ukrainian Deep State map showed Russian forces very close to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which had a population of more than 3 million before the war, and advancing on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region from several directions. A Ukrainian military spokesman, Dmytro Zaporozhets, said that Russian forces were trying to "build a bridgehead for an attack" on Kostyantynivka, an important logistical hub for the Ukrainian army. Russia on Saturday accused Ukraine of delaying the swap of prisoners of war and return of the bodies of 12,000 dead soldiers, though Ukraine denied those claims. Russia said on Sunday it was moving bodies towards the border and television showed refrigerated trucks containing the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers on the road in the Bryansk region. Ukraine accused Russia of playing propaganda games and said that the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers was scheduled for next week. Russia said Ukraine was playing politics with the dead. US President Donald Trump, who says he wants an end to the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, on Thursday likened it to a fight between young children and indicated that he might have to simply let the conflict play out. ACCUSATIONS OVER WILLINGNESS FOR PEACE Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that he did not think Ukraine's leaders wanted peace, after accusing them of ordering a bombing in Bryansk, western Russia, that killed seven people and injured 115 a day before talks in Turkey. Ukraine, which has not commented on the attack on a Bryansk bridge, has similarly accused Moscow of not seriously seeking peace, citing as evidence Russian resistance to an immediate ceasefire. Russia is demanding international recognition of Crimea, a peninsula annexed from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, and four other regions of Ukraine that Moscow has claimed as its own territory. Ukraine would have to withdraw its forces from all of them. Russia controlled 113,273 sq km, or 18.8 per cent, of Ukrainian territory as of Jun 7, according to the Deep State map. That is an area bigger than the US state of Virginia. The areas under Russian control include Crimea, more than 99 per cent of the Luhansk region, over 70 per cent of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, all in the east or southeast, and fragments of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions in the northeast. Putin told Trump on Wednesday that he would have to respond to Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia's bomber fleet and the bombings of the railways. The United States believes that Putin's threatened retaliation against Ukraine over its attacks has not happened yet in earnest and is likely to be a significant, multi-pronged strike, US officials told Reuters. Russia also hit the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday evening and overnight with drones, missiles and guided bombs, killing at least four people and injuring more than 60, including a baby, local officials said on Saturday.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Russia intensifies assaults near Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border, Ukraine's military says
Russian forces are ramping up their offensive in southern Ukraine in an attempt to breach the administrative border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces spokesperson, Vladyslav Voloshyn, said on May 13. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a major industrial and logistical hub, remains untouched by ground incursions but is under growing threat. Voloshyn said Russian troops continue to use artillery, kamikaze drones, guided aerial bombs, and unguided missiles to attack Ukrainian positions. "The number of these assault operations is quite high," he said, citing 24 combat engagements in the Novopavlivka direction alone. Novopavlivka lies in central-eastern Ukraine, roughly 130 kilometers (about 80 miles) southeast of Dnipro, near the tri-border area of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. Voloshyn described it as the "most mobile area" on the southern front, where four Russian regiments have concentrated assault units. "They are trying to break through toward the administrative border of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts," he said, adding that fighting involves small assault groups and constant shelling. The Russian assaults prompted local authorities on April 28 to begin mandatory evacuations of families with children from four frontline villages: Kolona Mezhova, Novopidhorodne, Raipole, and Sukhareva Balka. These settlements lie just 5–15 kilometers from Russian positions. Although Russian troops have not yet entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the region has suffered regular missile, drone, and airstrike attacks that have killed and wounded civilians and damaged critical infrastructure. Read also: As Ukraine, Russia peace talks loom, all eyes are on Putin's next move We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukraine war latest: Russia announces beginning of 'direct talks' with Ukraine; Kyiv hasn't commented yet
Key developments on April 29: Putin's Victory Day truce proposal 'is start of direct negotiations' with Ukraine, Lavrov says Russia intensifies offensive operations in 3 regions, pushes toward Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's military says Ukrainian drones reportedly target Ryazan, Nizhny Novgorod oblasts in Russia Dnipropetrovsk Oblast's eastern villages evacuating families as Russian troops close in Europe, Kyiv worry Trump prepares to exit Ukraine peace efforts, FT reports Russian President Vladimir Putin's proposal for a ceasefire on Victory Day is the beginning of direct talks with Kyiv, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on April 29 during a press briefing. "Our proposal, which President Putin voiced, is the start of direct negotiations, without preconditions. In this situation, a ceasefire (for 30 days) is seen as a precondition," Lavrov said. It is not clear if Lavrov meant direct negotiations would begin at the time of the ceasefire, or if Putin's announcement of it marked their commencement. Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on Lavrov's statement. Putin claimed Russian forces would cease all hostilities from May 8 until midnight on May 11 to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Ukraine retorted by calling for a full and unconditional ceasefire, a proposal that Moscow continues to reject. Join our community Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight. Support Us Following the meeting with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on April 25, Putin told the U.S. about his readiness to enter negotiations with Ukraine "without preconditions." The Kremlin has repeatedly proclaimed supposed readiness for peace talks while simultaneously pushing for maximalist demands, with Kyiv accusing Moscow of deliberately stalling peace efforts. Kyiv maintains that it is ready for negotiations but insists any peace process must preserve Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty, and that territorial issues can only be addressed after a full ceasefire. It has been almost 50 days since Ukraine accepted a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire first introduced in March. Moscow rejected the plan, demanding a complete halt to Western military aid to Ukraine. Read also: Trump said Ukraine 'will be crushed very shortly' — this is why he's wrong Russian forces have recently intensified offensive operations in three Ukrainian oblasts – Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson – Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces spokesperson, Vladyslav Voloshyn, said on April 29 during Ukraine's state-run telethon. The statement follows Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement of a three-day truce in the war against Ukraine to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe on May 8-11. Russian forces have intensified their push toward Novopavlivka, a village in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, which borders Donetsk Oblast, according to Voloshyn, conducting 23 combat engagements over the past day in the area. "Fierce fighting continues there, and the enemy is rushing to the border of Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts," Voloshyn said. While Donetsk Oblast has been the epicenter of Russia's aggression against Ukraine since 2014 — with significant escalation after the full-scale invasion in 2022 – Russian forces have not yet entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The distance between Novopavlivka and the village of Kotliarivka in Donetsk Oblast, where fighting is ongoing between Russian and Ukrainian troops, is nearly 12 kilometers (8 miles). Voloshyn added that the situation is "quite turbulent" in the Orikhiv direction in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, near the settlements of Mali Shcherbaky, Lobkove, and Stepove. "The enemy is trying to break through the line of contact there, reach the bridgehead and capture it, which is not far from Zaporizhzhia. From there, they (Russian forces) can exert fire on our logistics routes that go from Zaporizhzhia to the east of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and to shell Zaporizhzhia itself and its suburbs," Voloshyn said. According to the spokesperson, the situation has also deteriorated in the Kherson sector of the front line, where Russian troops have made more frequent attempts to seize islands on the Dnipro River. Though Ukrainian forces sank most Russian boats, some Russian soldiers managed to land on the islands, he added. "(Russian soldiers) cannot be evacuated from there, and their command is dropping ammunition, water, and food from drones. They stay there for several days. There are cases where they even surrender to our forces," Voloshyn said. Dnipropetrovsk Oblast authorities on April 28 announced mandatory evacuations of families with children from four eastern villages, as Russian forces advance toward the region's administrative border. The evacuation order, issued by Governor Serhii Lysak on April 25, concerns the villages of Kolona Mezhova, Novopidhorodne, Raipole, and Sukhareva Balka in the Mezhova community. Anxiety in the area mounts as Russian forces reportedly stand only some 5-15 kilometers (3-9 miles) from the settlements, which lie near the administrative border between Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk oblasts. Residents will be evacuated by vehicles and were asked to pack documents, money, medicine, water, and food for a few days, along with other necessities. Read also: Trump promised peace in 100 days, but Russia's violence against Ukraine has only escalated Ukrainian drones attacked the city of Dzerzhinsk in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast overnight on April 29, Governor Gleb Nikitin said. Nikitin claimed the drone attack had been repelled above two districts in the region, with no consequences reported. Russian Telegram channel Shot, reportedly close to Russian security forces, reported explosions in Ryazan, claiming that drones may have targeted an oil refinery. According to Russia's Defense Ministry, Russian air defense shot down 91 Ukrainian drones, including eight over Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and 11 over Ryazan Oblast. Drones were also downed in Kursk, Oryol, Moscow, Belgorod, Kaluga, Bryansk oblasts, and in Russian-occupied Crimea, the ministry reported. The Ukrainian forces have not yet commented on the attack. The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Dzerzhinsk lies around 800 kilometers (500 miles) north of the Russia-Ukraine border, while Ryazan is around 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian military and industrial facilities in the rear to undermine Moscow's ability to wage its all-out war. In the meantime, Russia continues regularly targeting Ukrainian cities and villages with drones, missiles, glide bombs, and artillery, resulting in heavy civilian casualties. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 37 of the 100 attack and decoy drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Forty-seven decoy drones disappeared from radars without causing damage, according to the statement. Read also: Why Zelensky won't — and can't — sell out Ukraine for Trump's peace European and Ukrainian officials are concerned that U.S. President Donald Trump is about to use minor progress in peace talks as an excuse to leave the process, the Financial Times (FT) reported on April 28, citing undisclosed sources. Trump has increasingly voiced frustration with both Ukraine and Russia as his self-imposed 100-day deadline to broker a settlement is coming to an end. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that the coming week will be decisive for Washington's future involvement, even as Kyiv warns about "dangerous" repercussions of the U.S.'s exit. "This is going to be a really important week in which we're going to have to decide whether we want to continue to engage in this effort, or whether it's time for us to shift our focus to other issues that are just as, if not more, important," Rubio said. European and Ukrainian officials are now convinced that Trump will seek to portray any kind of breakthrough as a justification to walk away, even without achieving stable and lasting deal, the FT reported. According to the outlet, U.S. officials worry that their talks with Russia are leading nowhere and have begun discussing short-term solutions that would fit into Trump's timeline. "This is a very dangerous moment. I don't think it sends a very good signal if the U.S. pulls out. We really hope that President Trump will support Ukraine and put pressure on Russia," Zelensky said last week. Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced a three-day ceasefire on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. The move was dismissed by both Washington and Kyiv, who instead called for a complete halt to hostilities. Ukraine maintains that a full and unconditional ceasefire must be the first step toward peace talks, a proposal that Russia continues to reject. The Kremlin recently proclaimed its readiness to enter into talks with Ukraine "without preconditions," even as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated maximalist demands, including international recognition of Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territories. Zelensky met Trump in the Vatican on April 26 for a brief meeting that was described by both sides as positive. The U.S. president followed up the discussion with a social media post criticizing Putin over aerial attacks on Ukraine and reiterating threats of sanctions. Trump has repeatedly warned he would impose additional economic measures against Russia, but has yet to take the step. In turn, the new U.S. administration has exerted considerably greater pressure on Ukraine, even briefly pausing all military aid in March. The U.S. has been Kyiv's leading military supporter throughout the full-scale war, though Trump is yet to approve any new aid package. A possible exit from the peace efforts raises concerns that the U.S. might also cease all backing for Ukraine, including intelligence support. Ukraine War Latest is put together by the Kyiv Independent news desk team, who keep you informed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you value our work and want to ensure we have the resources to continue, join the Kyiv Independent community. We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
