During the Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine, when presented with Moscow’s demand that Kiev’s troops must withdraw from territory of the four regions that they have partially conquered (Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhie and Kherson), the Ukrainian delegation reacted with a strong rejection of this point.
It’s been widely reported that, at this point, Russian negotiators warned their foes: ‘Next time, it won’t be four regions, but six or eight’.
That could, of course, be nothing but bragging, except that today the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that units of the 90th Tank Division have reached & crossed the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic, and that their offensive continues deeper into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
That the Russian offensive has now breached into a brand-new region is a serious setback for the Kiev regime, who really depends on a constant PR effort to keep allies engaged and prevent further deterioration of public morale in their country.
So, at this point, besides the four regions mentioned above, there are also Russian successes in the northern Sumy and Kharkov regions – and now Dnipropetrovsk.
Hellbound and Down 