Ukraine war latest: Ukraine confirms Russia entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, reports advance stopped
Key developments on Aug. 27.
- Ukraine confirms Russia entered Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, reports advance stopped
- 'Powerful explosion' rocks Russian oil pipeline supplying Moscow, intelligence source claims
- Russian attacks kill 2, injure 29 in Ukraine over past day, damage energy infrastructure
- Top Ukrainian officials to meet US delegation this week amid proposed peace talks, Bloomberg reports
Russian forces failed to capture the villages of Zaporizke and Novoheorhiivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, but active fighting is ongoing in the region, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Aug. 26.
The statement comes after the DeepState monitoring group said that the two small settlements lying near the administrative borders between the Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts were occupied by Russia.
This marked the first time the battlefield monitors reported Russia taking control of settlements in the central-eastern region that Moscow's forces sought to penetrate for the past few months.
"The Ukrainian Defense Forces have stopped the advance of the Russian invaders and continue to control the village of Zaporizke, despite all the efforts of... (Russian forces), who (are) trying to capture this settlement," the General Staff said in a statement on social media.
"Active hostilities are also ongoing in the area of the village of Novoheorhiivka," the military said, adding that Russia is losing "dozens" of soldiers every day.
Victor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Dnipro group of forces, told the Kyiv Independent that claims about the capture of Zaporizke appeared already on Aug. 25 and were not confirmed by Ukraine at the time.
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed to have captured the villages as of Aug. 25.
Talking to the BBC, Tregubov added that this is the "first attack of such a large scale" in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
Previously, Russian forces attempted to enter the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast village of Dachne on several occasions but were repelled, the Ukrainian military has said.
DeepState shows Dachne mostly in the "gray zone," an area contested between Russian and Ukrainian forces.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media in June that Russian forces were conducting operations in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast as part of efforts to create a so-called "buffer zone" on Ukrainian territory.
The central-eastern region suffers daily Russian aerial and artillery attacks and borders Donetsk Oblast, a focal point of Russia's invasion since 2014 and a major battleground since the full-scale invasion in 2022.
'Powerful explosion' rocks Russian oil pipeline supplying Moscow, intelligence source claims
An explosion on Aug. 26 started a fire at the Ryazan-Moscow oil pipeline, a key petroleum product supply route for the Russian capital, a source in Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent.
Local media reported a powerful fire near the village of Bozhatkovo on the outskirts of Ryazan on the evening of Aug. 26, with emergency services and repair crews reportedly deployed to contain the blaze and repair damage. Russian Telegram channels claimed that a loud blast could be heard at a section of the main pipeline.
As a result of the "powerful explosion... the transportation of petroleum products to Moscow (via the pipeline) has been suspended indefinitely," the HUR source claimed on Aug. 27. The cause of the explosion was not specified.
Since 2018, the pipeline has been repurposed by Transneft, a state-run pipeline operator, to supply automobile gasoline to Moscow. The source noted that the company also supplies fuel to the Russian military.
Transneft and the regional officials have not publicly commented on the fire or its possible causes. According to the HUR source, Transneft is currently assessing the damage.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims.
Ryazan lies roughly 180 kilometers (120 miles) from Moscow and some 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian energy infrastructure through sabotage operations and drone strikes throughout the full-scale war, aiming to undermine Moscow's gas and oil revenues.
Russian attacks kill 2, injure 29 in Ukraine over past day, damage energy infrastructure
Russian attacks against Ukraine killed at least two civilians and injured at least 29 others over the past day, regional authorities said on Aug. 27.
Ukrainian forces downed 74 out of the 95 drones, including Shahed-type attack drones and decoys, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Twenty-one drones managed to strike at nine different locations.
Russian drones attacked energy and gas transmission infrastructure in the Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, the Energy Ministry reported.
"Energy and gas workers are working to restore power and gas supply as quickly as possible," the ministry said, calling the attacks a deliberate effort to destroy Ukraine's infrastructure ahead of the autumn and winter.
Russia also targeted an enrichment facility in Donetsk Oblast, DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said. The attack destroyed a building and damaged equipment, the statement read.
Russia launched a mass drone attack on Sumy, damaging infrastructure. Authorities reported disruptions to the electricity and water supply in the city.
A drone attack also hit Poltava Oblast, damaging an energy facility, an administrative building, vehicles, and equipment, acting Governor Volodymyr Kohut said.
A 68-year-old woman was injured in a Russian attack on the village of Kozacha Lopan in Kharkiv Oblast, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov.
A Russian attack on Izium injured two more women, aged 70 and 73, in the region, he added.
Russia targeted Zaporizhzhia Oblast, injuring two women, aged 25 and 52, and an 87-year-old man in the village of Uspenivka, Governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Two people were killed in Kostiantynivka and Bokove in Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin said. Twelve more people suffered injuries in the region over the past day.
In Kherson Oblast, Russian forces targeted 36 settlements, including the regional center of Kherson. Eleven people were injured, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
Top Ukrainian officials to meet US delegation this week amid proposed peace talks, Bloomberg reports
Presidential Office Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov are heading to New York this week to discuss security guarantees and future peace talks, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 27.
U.S. President Donald Trump's Russia envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Aug. 26 confirmed he would meet Ukrainian officials this week, but did not specify who would be in attendance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 25 said that Ukrainian and U.S. delegations would meet to discuss potential talks between him and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The upcoming meeting will focus on future security guarantees for Ukraine and setting up a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin, an unnamed person familiar with the plans told Bloomberg.
On Aug. 22, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Yermak met to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, the news outlet Suspilne reported, citing sources in the Presidential Office familiar with the negotiations.
Trump met Putin in Alaska on Aug. 15 and then met Zelensky alongside European leaders in the White House days later.
The U.S. leader has said he plans to host a bilateral meeting between Zelensky and Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting consisting of the three leaders if talks go well.
Trump has said he hopes the proposed Zelensky-Putin meeting can be held within the next two weeks as the U.S. leader seeks a swift agreement to a peace deal.
In May, Zelensky invited Putin to meet him directly for peace talks in Turkey, but the Russian leader refused.
Zelensky said on Aug. 18 that he will directly discuss territory with Putin in a potential meeting.
"(T)he question of territory is a question that we will leave between me and Putin. Security guarantees will probably be negotiated with our partners," he said.
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