Russian forces have crossed from Ukraine’s Donetsk region into the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region, marking a potential new phase in the ongoing war.
On Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Defense confirmed that units from the 90th Tank Division had reached the western border of Donetsk and continued advancing into Dnipropetrovsk. Videos shared on social media showed Russian troops crossing the administrative boundary just north of the town of Horikhove.
This is not the first time Russian forces have reached the region. Last month, Russian troops advanced into the Dnipropetrovsk region near the town of Novomykolaivka, to the north. In that case, footage showed soldiers crossing barbed wire marking the regional boundary, though those units have since assumed defensive positions.
Sunday’s announcement marked the first time the Russian Ministry of Defense officially acknowledged both reaching and initiating an offensive into Dnipropetrovsk, which has remained under Ukrainian control throughout the nearly 40-month-long war.
In late April, Ukrainian authorities had ordered the evacuation of civilians from towns and villages near the regional border, anticipating possible incursions.
The likely next target for Russian forces is the town of Novopavlivka, located roughly four miles (six kilometers) from the area where Russian troops were last seen advancing. Novopavlivka serves as a logistical hub for the Ukrainian military in the region. Its capture or encirclement would significantly disrupt Ukrainian operations to the south.
Should Russia begin occupying substantial parts of Dnipropetrovsk—territory it has not previously held—it may also alter Moscow’s negotiating position. Unlike the self-declared claims over Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia, the Kremlin does not currently claim sovereignty over Dnipropetrovsk.
However, during peace talks in Istanbul on May 16—the first high-level meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in over three years—Russian officials reportedly told their Ukrainian counterparts that if Kyiv refused to withdraw from the four claimed regions, "next time we’ll ask for more."
As of now, Russia occupies territory in eight regions of Ukraine’s pre-2014 borders, including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March 2014 following the ouster of then-President Viktor Yanukovych.