Russian forces have secured a small foothold in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time since the early weeks of the full-scale war in 2022, The New York Times reported Friday.

Small groups of Russian soldiers crossed into the Dnipropetrovsk region from the occupied Donetsk region over the past weekend, three Ukrainian officers stationed in the area told The New York Times.

A battlefield map compiled by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War also indicates that Russia has claimed a small strip of territory inside Dnipropetrovsk.

The officers told the NYT that Russian troops have not seized any settlements and have only advanced along a few tree lines.

Military analysts and Ukrainian sources told the NYT that the move is more likely a symbolic effort to erode Ukrainian morale and a strategic effort to reinforce Moscow’s positions in neighboring areas rather than a push to seize the entire Dnipropetrovsk region.