INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian forces have secured a small foothold in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time since the early weeks of the full-scale
war in 2022, The New York Times reported Friday.Small groups of Russian soldiers crossed into the Dnipropetrovsk region from the occupied
the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War also indicates that Russia has claimed a small strip of territory inside Dnipropetrovsk.The
officers told the NYT that Russian troops have not seized any settlements and have only advanced along a few tree lines.Military analysts
and Ukrainian sources told the NYT that the move is more likely a symbolic effort to erode Ukrainian morale and a strategic effort
Dnipropetrovsk.On Sunday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that forces from a tank unit had reached the western border of the Donetsk
region and were continuing their offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region.The Ukrainian military has so far not confirmed the presence of
Russian troops in Dnipropetrovsk.Russian negotiators at recent peace talks in Istanbul threatened Ukraine with further territorial losses if
Dnipropetrovsk or Sumy, to use as bargaining chips for Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.Moscow, which has the initiative on the battlefield, has
repeatedly refused calls by Ukraine, Europe and U.S
President Donald Trump for a full and unconditional ceasefire even as it holds talks with Kyiv on a possible settlement to the
war.Dnipropetrovsk had an estimated population of 3 million before Russia launched its offensive
Around 1 million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro.It is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian
advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv's struggling military and economy.AFP contributed reporting.
