Russia escalates Dnipropetrovsk offensive to sway peace talks
Russia continues its offensive on the Dnipropetrovsk region to gain an advantage in negotiations with Ukraine, reports the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to the Polish Press Agency, Russia is intensifying its military actions towards the Dnipropetrovsk region. The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggests that this is aimed at gaining a negotiating advantage in talks with Ukraine. ISW experts note that although these actions hold no operational significance, they might influence future peace talks.
The latest ISW analysis states that Russian troops are only about 6 kilometres from the border of the Donetsk region with Dnipropetrovsk, near the village of Novovasylivka. Additionally, the Russians are approximately 8 kilometres away from the border of these regions near the town of Novodarivka.
The goal for the Russian forces advancing westward towards the Dnipropetrovsk region from the area around Pokrovsk, a strategic logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, could be to encircle Ukrainian forces and capture the rest of the Donetsk region, reports ISW.
The Kremlin plans further annexations
Through the conquest of the southeastern part of the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Kremlin may be aiming to announce the right to annex the rest of this region in the future. Vladimir Putin has previously formally incorporated the Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions into Russia, despite them not being fully controlled by Russian forces.
Russian troops also control limited areas in the north and northeast of the Kharkiv region and the Kinburn Spit in the Mykolaiv region. The Kremlin may attempt to use these military formations for further attacks in these areas.
The Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, announced in March 2024 that Russia plans to seize a larger area of Ukraine. A close advisor to Putin, Nikolai Patrushev, stated that in 2025 "Ukraine may cease to exist," as the Kremlin seeks to occupy larger portions of Ukrainian territory than currently controlled by Russian troops.
