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Russian troops tasked to create 10-kilometer buffer zone in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's spy chief says

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Russian troops tasked to create 10-kilometer buffer zone in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's spy chief says
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, during an interview at an undisclosed location in Ukraine, on July 9, 2025. (Andrew Kravchenko/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Russian troops have been tasked with establishing a buffer zone up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Bloomberg, published on July 11.

Budanov's remarks come as Russian troops continue their offensive in the neighboring Donetsk Oblast, pushing closer to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast — a major industrial region in central Ukraine.

In mid-June, Ukraine's military denied reports that Russian troops had entered the region, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that Ukrainian troops had intercepted Russian reconnaissance units attempting to breach Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

"It’s not realistic for Russia to seize all of Donetsk Oblast by the end of the year," Budanov said.

According to Budanov, Russia’s earlier announcement of its entry into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast serves a political goal.

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Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)

The Russian Defense Ministry on July 7 claimed to have seized Dachne, which would mark the first village to be under Russian control in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

The Ukrainian military denied the claimed capture, calling it "disinformation."

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 the region.

Dnipropetrovsk village likely contested despite Russia’s claim of its capture
The village of Dachne in the southern part of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast appears to be contested, according to the Finnish Black Bird Group open-source intelligence collective. The Russian Defense Ministry on July 7 claimed to have seized Dachne, which would mark the first village to be under Russian control in the industrial Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, located just west of the war-torn Donetsk Oblast. The Ukrainian military denied the claimed capture, calling it “disinformation.” Viktor Tregubov, spok
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Kateryna Denisova

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Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

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