Russia claims push into central Ukraine as peace talks stall and pressure mounts on Kyiv
Russia says its troops have advanced into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region — a key industrial and logistical hub — for the first time since the start of the full-scale war, raising concerns about Kyiv’s overstretched defences amid faltering peace negotiations.
Key developments:
- Russia claims advance into Dnipropetrovsk region, a strategically vital Ukrainian territory.
- No independent confirmation; Ukraine has not verified the reports.
- Mounting civilian toll: Russian strikes kill at least 14 civilians, including children, on June 7 and 8.
- Peace talks falter, with Russia pressing hardline conditions in Istanbul.
- Ukrainian drone attacks hit a chemical plant and disrupt airports near Moscow.
Russia's defense ministry claimed on Sunday that troops from its 90th tank division had crossed into the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region — a significant escalation if confirmed, marking the first such entry into central Ukraine in over two years of full-scale war. The units reportedly advanced from the adjacent Donetsk region, a large part of which is already under Russian control.
CNN has not been able to verify the battlefield developments, and Ukraine’s military has not acknowledged any Russian advance into Dnipropetrovsk. Independent war monitors, including DeepState and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), had not corroborated the claim as of their latest updates on June 7.
The timing of the announcement follows several tactical Russian gains in Ukraine's north, including some 190 square kilometers seized in the Sumy region, according to open-source data. Analysts warn that deeper incursions into Dnipropetrovsk — a mining-rich region with a pre-war population of 3 million — could destabilize both Ukraine’s economic infrastructure and military logistics.
Russia’s renewed offensive comes amid stalled diplomatic efforts. In peace talks held in Istanbul last week, Moscow insisted on conditions including a complete Ukrainian military withdrawal from the frontlines, an end to Western military support, and Kyiv abandoning its NATO aspirations — all non-starters for Ukraine and its allies. The Kremlin has also rejected calls for a ceasefire from US President Donald Trump, the European Union, and Kyiv.
On the ground, Russian missile, drone, and artillery strikes killed at least 14 civilians and wounded dozens more over the weekend in Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kherson. Victims included two children — a 1.5-month-old baby and a 14-year-old girl — as well as emergency responders, according to Ukraine’s National Police. The attacks damaged high-rise buildings, cars, private homes, and even a children’s music school.
Ukraine has also ramped up drone activity. On June 8, a strike reportedly set off a fire at a chemical plant in Russia’s Tula region. Multiple Moscow-area airports, including Domodedovo, Vnukovo, and Zhukovsky, were forced to suspend operations due to incoming drones, underlining the expanding reach of Ukrainian retaliation deep into Russian territory.
If the claim about Dnipropetrovsk holds, it would mark a troubling new phase in the war — one that threatens to push the conflict further into Ukraine’s heartland, while diplomatic channels remain gridlocked and the humanitarian toll continues to rise.
Sources: CNN, RadioFreeEurope
