Russia advances to east-central Ukrainian region amid row over dead soldiers
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Russia says pushing offensive into Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region
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Russia said Sunday it was advancing into Ukraine’s eastern industrial Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year invasion — a significant territorial escalation amid stalled peace talks.
Ukraine’s top political and military leaders did not immediately respond to the claim, which would be a symbolic and strategic blow to Ukraine’s forces after months of battlefield setbacks.
Moscow, which has the initiative across much of the front, has repeatedly refused calls by Ukraine, Europe and US President Donald Trump for a full and unconditional ceasefire even as it holds talks with Kyiv on a possible settlement to the war.
Russia’s defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had “reached the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region”.
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Although there was no response from leaders in Kyiv to the claims, Ukraine’s southern army command said Russia “does not give up its intentions to enter the Dnipropetrovsk region, but our fighters are bravely and professionally holding their section of the frontline.”
Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.
In a set of peace demands issued to Ukraine at negotiations in Istanbul on June 2, Moscow demanded formal recognition that these regions were part of Russia — something Kyiv has repeatedly ruled out.
At a first round of talks last month, Ukraine said Russia threatened to accelerate and expand its offensive if Kyiv did not capitulate.
Tens of thousands have been killed in Russia’s three-year war, millions forced to flee their homes and cities and villages across eastern Ukraine devastated by relentless air attacks and ground combat.
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– Strategic setback –
Russia’s ex-president Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the national security council, said the fresh advance was a warning to Kyiv.
“Those who do not want to recognise the realities of the war at negotiations, will receive new realities on the ground,” he said on social media.
Russia’s army posted photos showing troops raising the Russian flag over the village of Zorya in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, close to the internal border.
A Ukrainian lieutenant colonel, 60-year-old Oleksandr, told AFP that Russians entering the region would not change the dynamics of the battle.
“They are advancing slowly, very slowly, but they are advancing,” he told AFP in the town of Mezhova, around a dozen kilometres from the border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.
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One person was killed there in an overnight bomb attack.
Oleksandr was defiant, despite the claims.
“They could say all of Ukraine belongs to them. Saying it is one thing. But I don’t think it will radically change the situation. Our resistance will remain unchanged.”
Dnipropetrovsk had an estimated population of three million before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro.
It is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv’s struggling military and economy.
Ukrainian military personnel previously told AFP that Russia could advance relatively quickly in the largely flat region, given there were fewer natural obstacles or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv’s forces.
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The region — and in particular the city of Dnipro — have been under persistent Russian strikes since Moscow invaded in February 2022.
Russia used Dnipro as a testing ground for its “experimental” Oreshnik missile in late 2024, claiming to have struck an aeronautics production facility.
– POW swap ‘next week’ –
Ukraine also said Sunday a prisoner exchange — the only agreement reached at the Istanbul talks — would start “next week” after both sides accused each other of trying to thwart and delay the swap.
Moscow said Ukraine was refusing to agree to take back the bodies of killed soldiers and said trains carrying corpses were headed to the border point, where more than 1,200 had arrived on Saturday in refrigerated trucks.
Ukraine’s spy chief Kyrylo Budanov said “repatriation activities” were set to start “next week” — with details having been sent to Russia on Tuesday.
“Everything is going according to plan, despite the enemy’s dirty information game,” he said on social media.
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Russia ramps up pressure on all fronts as Ukraine offers to buy US Patriots
Fatal attacks have shaken several Ukrainian cities, prompting an offer from Kyiv to pay for US air defence systems. Moscow’s self-imposed 30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure approached its close. Russia has stuck to its hardline positions while accusing Ukraine of violating the energy ceasefire, to which Kyiv never agreed. The US has found itself not just between two failed ceasefires but denying that it had proposed an effective partition of Ukraine following a truce. The Times, a British daily, reported that Washington’s special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg proposed partitioning Ukraine into spheres of influence “almost like Berlin after World War Two”, with Russian and NATO troops controlling different zones. Russia said it would never accept an idea of a Berlin-style occupation by NATO troops on Ukrainian soil. Russia warned that maintaining military zones would later lead to “a new level of escalation of escalation” on May 9, the anniversary of the end of World War II. Russia warns Poland, Baltic nations, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to expect immediate results.
How has the war in Ukraine divided Western countries? | Inside Story
Ukraine has reported dozens of civilian deaths from Russian attacks over the past week, including three killed in a late-night assault on Wednesday in the southeastern city of Dnipro.
A child was among the victims of the drone attack, which came hours before high-stakes meetings in Paris due to take place later on Thursday, during which United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff are to meet French President Emmanuel Macron and other European officials to discuss the conflict.
Ukraine’s defence and foreign ministers, as well as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, are also in the French capital for talks with US and European Union delegations, though Kyiv’s officials have not specified who it plans to meet.
But as Moscow’s self-imposed 30-day ceasefire on energy infrastructure approached its close, talks to achieve a broader ceasefire so far have showed little sign of progress.
Russia has stuck to its hardline positions while accusing Ukraine of violating the energy ceasefire, to which Kyiv never agreed.
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“This temporary moratorium has not been and is not being observed by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
Russia said Ukrainian drones targeted an electricity substation and a high-tension power line in the Bryansk region that day, an electricity substation in the occupied part of Kherson in Ukraine, and two low-pressure gas pipelines in Kursk.
Moscow’s forces claimed to have shot down seven UAVs near Shuya in the Ivanovo region on Wednesday, 260km (160 miles) east of Moscow and 500km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border. In total, it said, 26 drones were downed over several regions of Russia.
Asked whether Russia would resume attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on Friday, Peskov said, “Everything will depend on further orders from the supreme commander in chief,” a reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin’s March 18 energy ceasefire proposal was a counteroffer to US President Donald Trump’s March 10 total ceasefire proposal, which Ukraine had agreed to. The US thus ended up with two separate ceasefire agreements, one with Moscow and one with Kyiv, to which each warring capital held the other.
“Today marks exactly a month since the Russian Federation refused to accept a full and unconditional ceasefire proposed by the American side in the negotiations,” said Ukraine’s General Staff last week. During that time, it said, Russia carried out 5,124 ground assaults, more than 3,000 of them against Pokrovsk, Toretsk and Lyman, the three Russian priority targets in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
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“Since the beginning of April alone, the Russian army has already used almost 2,800 aerial bombs,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.
The US has found itself not just between two failed ceasefires but denying that it had proposed an effective partition of Ukraine following a truce.
The Times, a British daily, reported that Washington’s special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg proposed partitioning Ukraine into spheres of influence “almost like Berlin after World War Two”, with Russian and NATO troops controlling different zones.
Kellogg said The Times misrepresented his proposal, which was “referencing areas or zones of responsibility for an allied force”, not including US troops, “in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty”.
But speaking during a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Almaty on Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said “a return to the 1991 borders, as Zelenskyy continues to demand, is impossible.”
Even Kellogg’s idea of a Berlin-style occupation by troops of different nationalities was a nonstarter for Russia, which has said it would never accept NATO troops on Ukrainian soil.
Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told reporters on Saturday that maintaining military zones would later lead to “a new level of escalation”.
Given these divergences, Peskov said it is “hardly possible” to expect immediate results.
Russia warns Poland, Baltic nations
Moscow’s diplomatic messaging to isolate Europe was also running on all cylinders.
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Peskov called EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’s exhortation for EU leaders to visit Kyiv, not Moscow, on May 9, the anniversary of the end of World War II, an “aggressive statement”.
Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergey Nechayev, told Russia’s Izvestia newspaper he expected a new coalition would “not want to repeat the mistakes of the previous coalition” in endorsing an “epochal change” in defence spending and seeking to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia, but take a more pliable stance.
Sergey Naryshkin, [the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, said that in the event of aggression from NATO, the first to “suffer will be the bearers of such ideas among the political circles of Poland and the Baltic countries”.
The US and Russia did make some progress in Istanbul on April 10 in talks to normalise the operation of their embassies, but even here, Russia leveraged the discussion to have sanctions against it lifted.
For instance, Moscow proposed lifting a ban on Aeroflot flights to the US so its diplomats could travel freely, and partially lifting sanctions on Russian banking so the country could pay its diplomats and other expenses.
Meanwhile, Moscow scaled up its attacks in Ukraine.
Ukraine said Russia attempted a battalion-sized mechanised assault in Zaporzhia on Tuesday.
Southern forces spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn said the unit was destroyed while attempting an assault on Orikhiv eight kilometres (five miles) from the front line. Battalion-sized assaults of 400-500 soldiers are rare, especially on the southern front.
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The Orikhiv direction has seen successful action by both sides. Ukraine mounted a counteroffensive there in 2023, winning back territory lost during the initial invasion. Last year, Russian forces recaptured most of that territory.
Ukraine reported another recent large-scale assault in the direction of Vesele and Skudne on the Donetsk-Zaporizhia regional border using five tanks and 20 armoured personnel carriers.
“More equipment and manpower are being used … The equipment moved in four columns filled with paratroopers. It was similarly destroyed,” with at least 100 Russian deaths, Ukrainian commander Serhii Naiev claimed on social media.
Ukraine offers to buy US Patriot systems
The only significant diplomatic shift came from President Zelenskyy, who changed tack with Washington and offered to buy 10 Patriot air defence systems, rather than asking for their donation.
The trigger for that offer was a Russian attack on Palm Sunday on April 13. Thirty-five people were killed and more than 100 injured when Russia fired two ballistic missiles into the city of Sumy.
Rescue crews had to cut bodies out of burned cars, as other bodies littered the street around them. Ukrainian military intelligence reported the missiles were Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles.
US ambassador to Kyiv, Bridget Brink, acknowledged that Russian forces used cluster warheads.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence said the attack was not an indiscriminate assault on civilians, but a targeted strike against a gathering place of the command staff of Ukraine’s Siversk operational-tactical group.
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It accused Ukraine of holding such meetings in civilian surroundings in order to use noncombatants as human shields.
Russia made similar claims after killing 20 civilians in the city of Kryvyi Rih on April 4.
Ukraine’s General Staff said their drones attacked “several objects in the Kursk region” belonging to a Russian brigade blamed for launching the ballistic missile attack against Sumy.
Two days after the Sumy attack, Zelenskyy told NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Ukraine was ready to buy Patriot systems.
“We are not just asking for Patriots – we are ready to buy them,” Zelenskyy told Rutte during a visit to Odesa.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told a telethon last week that a total of 137 downings of ballistic missiles during the war had demonstrated that “ballistics today are knocked down only by Patriot systems”.
There was no reaction from the administration of US President Donald Trump on whether it would sell the systems to Kyiv.
Since Trump’s election, the US has pulled out of the so-called Contact Group of roughly 50 countries donating military assistance to Ukraine.
Members of that group continued to pledge assistance to Ukraine on Friday.
Germany promised four IRIS-T short-range air defence systems, 120 man-portable air defence systems and 30 interceptor missiles for Patriot systems, among other things. Denmark said it would provide Ukraine with one billion euros ($1.1bn) in military aid between now and 2027, including air defence, artillery systems and ammunition.
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The United Kingdom and Norway announced a $600m package for repair and maintenance of vehicles, radar, antitank mines and “hundreds of thousands of drones”. Norway pledged an additional $938m to equip a new Ukrainian brigade.
Rutte said NATO members had pledged 20 billion euros ($23bn) in aid to Ukraine in the first quarter of 2025.
Kallas said EU members – many of them also NATO members – had pledged 23 billion euros ($26bn) so far this year, compared with 20 billion euros ($23bn) last year.
‘Several hundred Chinese nationals are fighting’ for Russia, Ukraine claims
The puzzle of Chinese soldiers fighting alongside Russia on Ukrainian soil continues to grow.
Two Chinese soldiers reportedly captured by Ukraine were on Monday allowed to answer questions from reporters.
They said they signed up to fight on social media online, adding that it was also possible to be recruited through TikTok, and asked to be returned home in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war.
“Everything we heard from the Russians was a lie,” Wang Guangjun, one of the soldiers, reportedly said. “It turned out that Russia is not that strong, and Ukraine is not that weak. And, therefore, it is better not to take part in wars at all.”
“We have information that at least several hundred Chinese nationals are fighting as part of Russia’s occupation forces,” Zelenskyy said on Friday.
Two US officials told the Reuters news agency on Saturday that at least 100 Chinese nationals were fighting in Ukraine as mercenaries without a connection to the government in Beijing, but that China had sent officers to the front lines as observers to glean tactical observations.
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China has denied the claims.
Russia says it captures 3 more settlements in east Ukraine
Russian troops advancing slowly on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine have captured two settlements. Russian Defence Ministry said its forces had captured the village of Stupochky in Donetsk region. It also said it had taken control of Otradne, a village further west along the 1,000-km front. Ukraine has reported attempts by Russian forces to occupy areas of Sumy region, but has never acknowledged the capture of any of them. The city of Kupiansk is 90% destroyed, its mayor said on Saturday, adding two city workers were killed on Friday.
MOSCOW, May 24 (Reuters) – Russian troops advancing slowly on the eastern front of the war in Ukraine have captured two settlements in Donetsk region as well as one in Ukraine’s northern region of Sumy, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
Since their failed advance on the capital Kyiv in the first weeks of the war, Russian forces have focused on capturing the Donbas in the east, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
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In recent months, Moscow has also tried to advance in Sumy region, particularly after Russia’s military said it had ousted Ukrainian troops from the Russian border region of Kursk.
A Russian Defence Ministry statement said its forces had captured the village of Stupochky in Donetsk region, east of Kostiantynivka, a town under recent Russian pressure.
It also said it had taken control of Otradne, a village further west along the 1,000-km front and announced the capture of Loknya, a village inside the Russian border in Sumy region.
The general staff of Ukraine’s military acknowledged no such losses, referring to Otradne as one of several towns where Ukrainian troops had halted 18 frontline Russian attacks. It referred to Stupochky earlier this week as part of an area under Russian attack.
For months, Ukraine has reported attempts by Russian forces to occupy areas of Sumy region, but has never acknowledged the capture of any of them.
Reuters could not independently verify battlefield accounts from either side.
Ukraine’s popular DeepState military blog, which uses open source reports, said Russian forces had for the first time “been able to take up positions” along a line of border villages.
Russia’s Defence Ministry on Friday announced the capture of Radkivka, a village outside the northeastern city of Kupiansk, which has been under pressure for months.
On Saturday, Kupiansk Mayor Andrii Besedin said the attacks were taking a toll, including two city workers killed on Friday.
“We are seeing awful losses among our people, our colleagues who give their lives so the city can go on living,” Besedin told national television. “Sadly, as of now, the city is 90% destroyed.”
Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Ron Popeski and David Gregorio
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Judge refuses to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing Copyright Office director
A federal judge refused Wednesday to temporarily block the Trump administration from removing and replacing the director of the U.S. Copyright Office. Judge Timothy Kelly ruled from the bench that the office director, Shira Perlmutter, hasn’t met her legal burden to show how removing her from the position would cause her irreparable harm. Kelly’s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn’t the final word in the lawsuit.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled from the bench that the office director, Shira Perlmutter, hasn’t met her legal burden to show how removing her from the position would cause her to suffer irreparable harm.
Kelly’s refusal to issue a temporary restraining order isn’t the final word in the lawsuit that Perlmutter filed last week. If Perlmutter decides to seek a preliminary injunction, the judge is giving her attorneys and government lawyers until Thursday afternoon to present him with a proposed schedule for arguing and deciding the matter.
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Perlmutter’s attorneys say she is a renowned copyright expert who also has served as Register of Copyrights since the former Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, appointed her to the job in October 2020.
Earlier this month, Trump appointed Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to replace Hayden as Librarian of Congress. The White House fired Hayden amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.
Perlmutter’s position is considered part of the legislative branch of government. The U.S. Copyright Office is housed within the Library of Congress, and its director is chosen by the Librarian of Congress, who is also a legislative branch employee but nominated by the president and subject to Senate confirmation.
Perlmutter’s lawyers argued that the president doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally remove the Register of Copyrights or appoint an acting Librarian of Congress.
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The Supreme Court sided with Trump in two other high-profile firings last week, when the conservative majority cleared the way for him to fire two independent board members. The firings left both agencies without enough board members to take final actions.
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Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
Russian Forces Advance to Dnipropetrovsk Edge Amid Rising Tensions –
Russia has announced that its forces have advanced to the edge of the east-central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. This military move comes amid a public dispute between Moscow and Kyiv over peace negotiations and the return of thousands of fallen soldiers’ bodies.
According to pro-Ukrainian open-source maps, Russian forces have captured additional territory, seizing over 190 square kilometers in Ukraine’s Sumy region in less than a month.
Meanwhile, according to Moscow, Kyiv has ramped up its military actions, including high-profile drone and sabotage attacks targeting Russia’s nuclear-capable bomber fleet and its railway infrastructure.
Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed that its units of the 90th Tank Division, part of the Central Grouping of Russian forces, have reached the western frontier of Ukraine’s Donetsk region and are now pushing into the neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.
As the military stakes rise, Russia is pressing for international recognition of Crimea – a peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014 – as well as four other Ukrainian regions it claims as its own. Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw its forces from these territories, a key point of contention in any potential peace talks.