Russian forces make ground in strategic Ukraine region

Russia's invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as US-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction.

- By ILLIA NOVIKOV

Russia's invading forces have broken into an eighth region of Ukraine, a Ukrainian military official said, seeking to capture more ground in their three-year war of attrition as US-led peace efforts struggle to gain traction. Some Russian troops have entered the villages of Novohryhorivka and Zaporizke in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, a major Ukrainian industrial centre next to the Donetsk region where fierce fighting has been taking place, Victor Trehubov, spokesperson for local ground forces, told the Associated Press.

Russia’s Defence Ministry claimed earlier this month that its forces had taken the two villages. But the Russians have not entrenched or built fortifications there, and fighting is continuing in the villages, Mr Trehubov said.

Ukrainian troops are under severe strain as they try to hold back Russia’s bigger army. Military analysts say there is no sign of a looming collapse of Ukrainian defences and note that Russian forces have been unable to take major towns and cities, but their slow slog through rural areas keeps Ukraine under pressure.