Russia advances offensive in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region
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Russia advances into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its ongoing offensive, striking strategic facilities and seizing new territory.
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Firefighters work on the site of a damaged building after a Russian missile attack in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine, Thursday, March 6, 2025 (AP)
Russia announced on Sunday that its forces were advancing into Ukraine’s eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year offensive, marking a significant territorial expansion as peace talks remain stalled.
The Dnipropetrovsk region is a crucial mining and industrial center for Ukraine, and further Russian advances into the area could severely impact Kiev’s already strained military and economy.
Russia's defense ministry stated that troops from a tank division had advanced to the western edge of the Donetsk People's Republic and were now pushing further into the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The Russian military’s push into another Ukrainian region deals both a symbolic and strategic setback to Kyiv’s forces, compounding months of battlefield struggles.
Ukraine has not formally responded to the Russian MoD's announcement yet.
Russia unleashes fury: Ukraine reels under crushing blows
On June 6, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that its forces had unleashed a wave of large-scale strikes against Ukrainian military installations, describing the operation as retaliation for "terrorist acts" carried out by Kiev's forces.
"Last night, in response to the terrorist actions of the Kiev regime, the armed forces of the Russian Federation carried out a massive strike with long-range air, sea, and ground-based high-precision weapons, as well as with strike UAVs against design bureaus, enterprises producing and repairing weapons and military hardware of Ukraine, attack drone assembly workshops, flight training centers, and AFU weapons and military hardware depots," the Ministry stated in its channel on Telegram.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukrainian forces suffered heavy losses, with over 3,435 troops killed, 39 armored vehicles destroyed - including a Bradley IFV and five US-made M113 APCs, along with 44 other military vehicles and 29 artillery pieces eliminated in the fighting.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Friday that its forces had seized control of Fedorovka village in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Ukraine fails to show up at prisoner, body exchange
Ukraine did not show up at the agreed-upon location for the POW and body exchange agreement with Russia, which both sides reached during the latest round of talks in Istanbul.
"We have seen reports from Ukrainian and international media claiming that the operation has allegedly been postponed until next week. We are awaiting official communications on this matter," General Alexander Zorin told TASS on June 7.
The Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned Ukraine's move, claiming that a generational curse will befall the Ukrainian authorities should they fail to recover the bodies of Kiev's soldiers.
The Russian Security Council deputy chairman, Dmitry Medvedev, published a scathing criticism on X, saying that "The Kiev bastards don't want to take the bodies of their dead soldiers," and emphasizing that Ukraine did not receive the bodies out of fear of admitting their losses and wanting to avoid compensating their families.
