Russian forces have reportedly seized their first village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Russian state media and military bloggers. This comes as part of a broader advance that has seen Moscow’s troops gain 950 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in two months. In Ukraine’s northeast Luhansk region — which Russia claims as part of its territory — the Moscow-appointed governor stated that Russian forces now fully control the region. In Donetsk, another region claimed by Russia, officials reported a Ukrainian missile attack on the city of Donetsk, killing at least one person and damaging infrastructure.

Despite discussions of a potential peace deal, Russia continues a steady advance across eastern Ukraine. Its Defense Ministry has been announcing the daily capture of new settlements. Russian forces are also reportedly expanding control into Ukraine’s northern Sumy region, carving out about 200 square kilometers. According to the Ukrainian Deep State map, Russia now holds 113,588 square kilometers of Ukrainian land — a 943 square kilometer increase over two months.

The reported capture of Dachne village in Dnipropetrovsk, mentioned by pro-Russian figure Vladimir Rogov, marks a claimed new gain, though Ukraine denies that Russia has made progress in the area. Russia’s Defense Ministry has not officially confirmed the claim. Following Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion, it quickly took much of the heavily industrialized Luhansk region, though some parts remained under Ukrainian control until recently.

Meanwhile, Russia has reiterated its willingness to negotiate peace, insisting Ukraine must fully withdraw from the four regions it claims. Ukraine and its allies reject these conditions as unacceptable and accuse Moscow of not genuinely seeking peace. Currently, Russia controls Crimea (annexed in 2014), nearly all of Luhansk, over 70% of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, and parts of Kharkiv, Sumy, and Dnipropetrovsk.