Ukraine breaks through in south, retakes Novoselivka
The village of Novoselivka in Dnipropetrovsk region is back under Ukrainian control as Kyiv reports gains across more than 435 square kilometres.
- The village of Novoselivka in Dnipropetrovsk region has been liberated from Russian occupation.
- The OSINT community reports Russian forces have lost at least 46 square kilometres of territory.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky says the wider counteroffensive has reclaimed more than 435 square kilometres.
- Ukraine struck oil infrastructure in western Russia and Crimea overnight, downing 217 drones.
Ukrainian forces have retaken the village of Novoselivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region, opening what maps maintained by the OSINT project DeepState describe as a new phase of fighting on the southern front. For Serbia, whose foreign policy remains balanced between its European perspective and traditional ties to Moscow, every shift along the line of contact reshapes the frame in which Brussels and Washington calibrate the sanctions regime and diplomatic channels towards the region.
According to the same OSINT community, Russian forces have lost at least 46 square kilometres of ground on this axis. It is a modest area in absolute terms, but on a front that had barely moved for months, any shift carries both military and political weight.
What is known about the advance
Fighting is currently under way around the villages of Zeleny Hai and Tolstoy, with Ukrainian airborne assault units engaged in the sector. Their presence suggests Kyiv is committing the kind of formations it usually reserves for breakthrough operations rather than for holding a static line.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the wider counteroffensive has liberated more than 435 square kilometres. The figure cited by the Ukrainian leadership is considerably larger than the individual gain logged by independent observers, a pattern that runs through wartime messaging on both sides: official Kyiv speaks of the offensive’s cumulative effect, while OSINT analysts measure each kilometre separately and more slowly.
Is this a wider turning point?
In parallel with ground operations, Ukraine struck oil infrastructure in western Russia and occupied Crimea overnight. In that exchange, the Ukrainian side says, 217 drones were shot down, an indication of the intensity of the attacks aimed at the enemy’s energy sector. Strikes on refineries and fuel depots have become a fixed component of Ukrainian strategy, hitting the logistics and revenue that fund the Russian war machine.
For European chancelleries, which watch each movement on the front closely before the next round of decisions on aid to Kyiv, the recapture of Novoselivka and the advance of airborne units signal that the Ukrainian offensive is not spent. Whether the breakthrough in the south marks the start of a wider shift or a local success will become clear in the coming weeks of fighting.
How far will the current advance on the southern front influence the stance of European capitals on further support for Kyiv?
