Russia captures 2 villages near Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border, monitoring group says
Russian forces have occupied the villages of Zelenyi Kut and Novoukrainka in Donetsk Oblast, located near the administrative border with Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the battlefield monitoring platform DeepState reported on July 5.
Russian forces are attempting to push further west, according to DeepState.
Donetsk Oblast has been a central battlefield since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 in Ukraine. While Dnipropetrovsk Oblast lies further west and has not seen significant Russian incursions, it is frequently targeted with missile, drone, and aerial bomb strikes.
Russian troops have been escalating their assaults in the area and are attempting to breach into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
"The situation around Dachne is pretty intense," DeepState wrote on Telegram, referring to the nearby front-line settlement in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Ukrainian forces have deployed reinforcements, but Russian units, relying on numerical advantage and constant infantry assaults, have breached some defenses in the area, DeepState said.
Ukraine's military has not officially confirmed the loss of the settlements.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed Novoukrainka was captured as early as June 29, though that assertion was not independently confirmed at the time.
On July 2, Ukraine dismissed Russian claims of advancing into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, calling them disinformation. It said that a small Russian reconnaissance unit briefly entered the village of Dachne, took photos with a Russian flag, and was then "eliminated."
Ukrainian military spokesperson Viktor Trehubov said in mid-June that Russia was escalating attacks in the Novopavlivka sector — in the western part of Donetsk Oblast — and trying to breach into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
DeepState analysts suggest Moscow views an incursion into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as symbolically significant and a propaganda opportunity, while for Ukraine, holding the administrative line is a strategic priority.
