Russia says pushing offensive into Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region

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Russia said Sunday it was pushing into Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time in its three-year offensive, a significant territorial escalation.

Moscow claims to have annexed five regions of Ukraine, but has not made a formal claim over Dnipropetrovsk.

The defence ministry said forces from a tank unit had "reached the western border of the Donetsk People's Republic and are continuing to develop an offensive in the Dnipropetrovsk region."

The advance of Russian forces into yet another region of Ukraine is both a symbolic and strategic blow to Kyiv's forces afer months of setbacks on the battlefield.

There was no immediate response from Ukraine to Russia's statement.

In more than a decade of conflict with Kremlin-backed separatists and the Russian army, Ukraine has never had to fight on the territory of the central region until now.

Dnipropetrovsk is an important mining and industrial hub for Ukraine and deeper Russian advances into the region could have a serious knock-on effect for Kyiv's struggling military and economy.

It was estimated to have a population of around three million people before Russia launched its offensive. Around one million people lived in the regional capital, Dnipro.

Ukrainian military personnel previously told AFP that Russia could advance relatively quickly in the largely flat region, given there are fewer natural obstacles or villages that could be used as defensive positions by Kyiv's forces.