Russia Claims Foothold in Dnipropetrovsk Again After Earlier Staged Stunt

Russia on Monday said its troops captured a village in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, the second time in two weeks Moscow has made that claim, as the two sides continue to fight near the regional border.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces took control of Dachne, a small village near the border with Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Russian troops have been pushing toward Dnipropetrovsk for months, and the region has come under growing air and drone attacks.

The claim came hours after Russia launched a large overnight missile and drone attack on Ukrainian cities, including strikes on army recruitment centers, which Kyiv says are meant to disrupt military mobilization.

Ukrainian officials have not yet commented on Russia’s latest claim, but earlier Monday, Ukraine’s military said its troops “repelled” attacks in the area around Dachne.

This is not the first time Russia has claimed to capture the village. On July 2, Russian media and pro-Kremlin bloggers shared videos showing troops raising a Russian flag in Dachne. At the time, Ukraine’s military called it a staged propaganda stunt.

Ukrainian officials said small Russian groups briefly entered the village, took photos, and were quickly pushed back.

“The enemy managed to snap a photo with their flag, but that was their last activity,” Ukraine’s forces said at the time.

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Russia appears to be making the Dnipropetrovsk border a key military target. The region is home to heavy industry and mining, and deeper Russian advances could hurt Ukraine’s economy and supply routes.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five regions Russia claims to own – Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea.

Fighting along the border remains active. Ukraine says its troops continue to hold positions in villages near Dachne, including Yalta, Komar, and Shevchenkove.

Russia has also stepped up its airstrikes on Dnipropetrovsk. Last year, Moscow used the city of Dnipro to test its new Oreshnik missile, targeting defense production facilities.