Russian troops march into Ukraine’s Dnipro region.

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Russian forces are moving into Ukraine’s Dnipro region, bypassing the expected heavy urban warfare around eastern Donetsk.

Since the summer, Ukraine has been preparing for an urban battle in Pokrovsk, the key to the remaining Ukrainian-controlled parts of the Donetsk region.

But Russian forces advancing from the south are now heading west from Pokrovsk and are just 7km away from taking the highway to Dnipropetrovsk region, according to Deep State Mapping, linked to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry.

Andriy Chernyk, Ukraine’s top military intelligence official, told the Financial Times that “they understand that they will lose a lot of their forces trying to take Pokrovsk, so they decided to adopt a different strategy and approach from the south.” Sunday.

“They will try to destroy all supplies to Pokrovsk so that our forces can go there,” he added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Sunday that it had captured the Yantarnoe settlement in the Donetsk region, about 50 kilometers south of Pokrovsk.

“The border of the Dnipropetrovsk region is now approximately 6.5 km away,” Russian military blogger Vonkor Kotenok posted on his Telegram channel on Sunday.

Pavlograd, the next capital city in Dnipropetrovsk, is the main Ukrainian military base. The region includes Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth largest city.

How quickly the Russian forces can take the highway to Dnipropetrovsk depends on its size Forts in the area As well as the ever-increasing labor force of Ukraine Short supply.

One Ukrainian soldier, who spoke to the FT on condition of anonymity, described it as “deep, muddy and impenetrable”.

Russian forces gain thousands of square kilometers of Donetsk region by 2024 The Institute for War Studies, a Washington-based think tank, said Russia seized roughly 4,200 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory last year. .

This speed allowed them to take the highway to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which would cut off the Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk and force the Ukrainian forces to defend them from two sides.

“When their forces are exhausted, they’re trying to find the maximum territory so they have something to negotiate,” Chernick said.

Ukraine announced on Saturday that it had taken its first North Korean prisoners of war from Russia’s southern Kursk region; This is further proof of Pyongyang’s involvement.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said those arrested were receiving medical attention, adding that “the world needs to know the truth about what is happening.”

Ukraine one renewed pressure Last week in Russia’s Kursk region, after losing nearly half of the territory it captured in an August invasion. Containment of Russian territory is still seen by Ukraine and its allies as key to any potential negotiations.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told reporters in Seoul yesterday that Kursk is important for Ukraine. “It’s certainly something that will factor into any negotiations that may come up in the coming year,” he added.

Cartography and animation by Steven Bernard