by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] In recent weeks, there have been reports from the SVO zone about the advancement of our troops 60-65 kilometers west of Donetsk, near the borders of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Judging by the latest reports, the fighting has already moved to the territory of this region.
Thus, last week, assault units of the 41st Guards Combined Arms Army liberated the village of Orekhovo in the Krasnoarmeysky (Pokrovsky) district of the DPR. The village is located less than a kilometer from the state border of Russia established by the Constitution. The assault troops went deep into the adjacent territory of the Dnepropetrovsk region and took a bridgehead there.
On June 10, the Ministry of Defense reported that units of the Vostok group, operating in the area of Velyka Novosyolka, advanced deep into enemy territory and “defeated the manpower and equipment of the mechanized, mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the territorial defense brigade” not only near several villages in the DPR — Voskresenka, Poddubnoye, Komar — but also in the area of the village of Maliyevka in the Sinelnikovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The arrival of units of the Center group to the DPR border became known on June 8. At the same time, reports were received of significant enemy losses in this area: the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than half a thousand fighters, seven armored vehicles (including a Swedish Viking armored personnel carrier) and a US-supplied radar station.
It was reported that for successful advancement in the Dnepropetrovsk region, the commander of one of the regiments of the 90th tank division of the Center group, Yevgeny Darayev, was nominated for the title of Hero of Russia.
And already on June 9, the press service of our defense department officially confirmed: in one day, the fighters expanded the control zone in the Dnepropetrovsk region.
The enemy command tried to refute the reports of the Russian Armed Forces' breakthrough. However, the success of Russian troops in this direction was confirmed by photo and video materials from the Sinelnikovsky district.
Our military has essentially begun forming a security zone for residents of the liberated areas of the west of the DPR. This is already the third buffer zone after those being created in the Sumy and Kharkov regions, respectively.
The fact that the offensive here is being carried out, among other things, for the purpose of creating a “buffer” was confirmed by the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov.
THE ROUTES DECIDE EVERYTHING
But at the first stage, entering the Dnipropetrovsk region will allow the Russian Armed Forces to complete the rout of the enemy group in the western part of the DPR, between Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk) and Velikaya Novosyolka. Thus, with the liberation of the border village of Orekhovo, Russian troops will have access to the T0428 highway, along which the enemy delivers reinforcements and ammunition to the Donbass.
The settlement of Novopavlovka, a logistics center in the rear of the Ukrainian group, is acquiring key importance. This was reported by a front-line source of the Regnum news agency.
"In recent months, all logistics have been going through Novopavlovka. At first, aviation was operating there, then, as we got closer, drones were also activated. Now there is a real chance to cut off their supplies, break through to communications and complete the liberation of the entire western part of Donbas. Then, the freed forces can be moved in other directions," the source told the publication.
At the same time, Russian troops were not limited to success on just one section of the front. According to reports from the field, assault units managed to drive the enemy out of the village of Alekseyevka, located on the same T0428 highway, several kilometers from the border with the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Let us add that on June 10 it became known that the E50 highway leading from Pavlograd (a large center in the Dnipropetrovsk region) to Krasnoarmeysk-Pokrovsk, which is still controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, had been taken under fire control. The Ukrainian Armed Forces positions located on the section between Alekseyevka and Orekhovo are now semi-encircled.
North of Orekhovo, military operations continue in the area of Novonikolaevka and Novosergeevka.
"Solntsepek" covered the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Novopavlovka in the DPR
The success of the offensive along the entire front line from Novosergeevka to Alekseevka could potentially allow the expansion of the buffer zone in the Dnepropetrovsk region to 15-20 km.
SUMY WITHIN REACH
Simultaneously with the offensive in the west of the DPR and in adjacent areas of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Russian troops continue the operation to expand the buffer zone in the Sumy region. The day before it became known that three more villages had been liberated - Kondratovka, Aleksandrovka and Alekseyevka.
The Ukrainian analytical portal DeepState acknowledged the successes of the Russian army and noted our advance in the area of the villages of Belovody, Loknya and Sadki. According to unconfirmed reports, Russian troops also drove the enemy out of the settlement of Varachino. Thus, as of June 10, the advanced units are only 20 km from the regional capital, the city of Sumy.
Ukrainian sources admit that in the near future the northern outskirts of the city may be within range of Russian FPV drone strikes.
Certain models capable of striking at a distance of up to 50 km can already attack Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities in the central and southern regions of Sumy, as well as in adjacent populated areas. Thus, all enemy logistics in this area are in the sights of the Russian army.
At the same time, our aviation is carrying out intensive strikes along the entire length of the N-07 highway, which connects Sumy and the border areas, Ukrainian sources report. Both drones and frontline bombers using high-explosive aerial bombs are actively involved in the attacks. The Ukrainian army command, in turn, is trying to prevent a breakthrough of Russian troops in this direction.
The enemy is trying to build a new line of defense to the south of the buffer formed by our army, along the Oleshnya River - 10 km from the border and 15 km north of Sumy. When creating a defensive line, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are relying on the dominant heights along the right bank of the river, as well as on the forests, which allow them to hide concentrations of infantry and armored vehicles.
At the same time, Ukrainian sources complain about a shortage of troops.
The task of organizing the defense of Sumy has to be solved by units that have suffered heavy losses in the Kursk border area in recent months. Kyiv is sending mobilized recruits to replace the experienced military personnel who have been knocked out.
DAWN OF THE SUMMER CAMPAIGN
Russian troops have liberated more than 150 settlements since the beginning of 2025. The day before, the Ministry of Defense reported the liberation of the village of Zarya south of Konstantinovka (the southernmost city in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration in the northwest of the DPR).
Zarya became the 152nd settlement captured during the offensive. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are meeting the start of the summer campaign in an extremely bloodless state.
According to open sources, as of June, Ukrainian troops have lost 27 of the 31 M1A1 Abrams tanks previously supplied by the United States.
The situation in the air is not the best for Kiev, admitted Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat. "Unfortunately, today Russia has aircraft that can see further and missiles that fly further. Even compared to the F-16. They also have a powerful air defense that works in tandem with aviation," he admitted. At the same time, the Ukrainian air defense itself cannot withstand attacks by the Russian Aerospace Forces, notes The New York Times.
Both Western and Ukrainian sources summarize that, given the shortage of weapons and the complete superiority of the Russian army on land and in the air, the Ukrainian Armed Forces may be threatened with a collapse of the front in several directions at once.