Russian forces cross into Dnipropetrovsk region for first time

Russian forces have for the first time crossed into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday, with fighting underway in the villages of Novoheorhiivka and Zaporizke as Kyiv and outside analysts dispute who controls the settlements. The development marks a notable expansion of Moscow's ground offensive into a central industrial area adjacent to the hard fought Donetsk front.

Battlefield claims remain contested. The Russian defense ministry and the battlefield monitoring group DeepState reported that Russian troops have captured the two villages. Ukrainian military spokesmen acknowledged that Russian forces "have entered there and are attempting to establish a foothold," Viktor Trehubov of the Dnipro operational-strategic group told Reuters, but insisted Kyiv's forces were contesting control and had not allowed the enemy to entrench. "Our forces are fighting to maintain their positions," he said. A Dnipro army group posting on Telegram said the advance had been stopped and that reports of full occupation did not correspond to the facts.

The incursion into Dnipropetrovsk, which is not among the five regions Russia has formally claimed as its own, is...