Russia captures village near Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region

Russian forces have captured a village just seven kilometres (four miles) from the border of Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region in their latest battlefield advance, Moscow said Sunday.

The Kremlin’s troops have not crossed the boundary of the region since their offensive began three years ago, but they have been grinding towards it for months in the hope of a breakthrough.

Seizing land in the Dnipropetrovsk region would be seen as a major propaganda victory for Russia, though military analysts have said such a crossing would have little strategic value.

Russian army units “liberated the village of Zaporizhzhia” in the eastern Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. The Donetsk region borders Dnipropetrovsk to the east.

The village of Zaporizhzhia, which shares the same name as the southern Ukrainian region, had a population of around 200 people before the conflict.

US President Donald Trump has been pushing for a speedy end to the fighting since taking office, but his administration has failed to reach a breakthrough despite multiple rounds of negotiation with both sides.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected a joint US-Ukrainian plan for a 30-day truce, and this week suggested that President Volodymyr Zelensky be removed from office as part of any peace process.