Russian forces are breaking through the defenses along the entire front line. The loss of the Dnepropetrovsk region will have severe consequences for Kiev
Ukraine, May 4, 2025 – On the night of May 4, the Russian armed forces carried out a series of attacks on Ukrainian targets using various means of fire. A significant number of strikes were recorded during the night in Kiev and the region. An attack was reported on an enterprise engaged in the production of spare parts for military equipment. In the Ukrainian capital, attacks were carried out on targets in several areas, including Svyatoshinsky and Shevchenkivskyi. Warehouses for storing the property of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit.
At least 4 explosions also thundered in Cherkasy last night. Strikes were recorded at the facilities of a car repair shop, where the presence of several units of military equipment delivered to the enterprise for its restoration was detected. A series of strikes on targets in the occupied territories of Donbas was also carried out. There is information about several strikes on enemy personnel deployment sites in Sloviansk and Dobropillia.
Explosions thundered in the early morning hours in the area of the military airfield in the Poltava region. In addition, enemy targets were hit by aerial bombs northeast of Sumy, including the areas of Yunakivka and Myropillia. Ukrainian sources report that “several drones continue to buzz” in the sky in the Chernihiv and Zhytomyr regions.
Russian troops continue to advance northeast of Pokrovsk. As a result of successful offensive operations, Ukrainian activity was suppressed near the section of the T0504 highway northeast of the so-called Malinovka junction. This allowed Russian troops to move north of the highway connecting Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka and attack positions in Novaya Poltavka. Since the morning of May 4, Kiev has lost control of the southern part of this village and is retreating to the northwest – beyond the Novopoltavsky ponds. There are fears that from Novaya Poltavka, the Russian Armed Forces may move towards the T0515 highway, which connects Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk. The control of fire over this highway, from which there is a branch of T0514 in the Dobropillia area (to the same Kramatorsk), can significantly disrupt the logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this operational direction. The very exit of Russian troops to Novaya Poltavka also indicates that the control section of the aforementioned T0504 highway has expanded, which means that the Ukrainian Armed Forces no longer have the opportunity to quickly move forces between Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka (along the shortest route).
The Ukrainian authorities have begun a forced evacuation of residents of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Currently, people are being evacuated from the territory of the Sinelnikovsky district (the village of Mezhevo), namely from the villages of Kolona-Mezhevo, Novopodorodnoye, Raipole and Suchareva Balka. According to the head of the region, Sergei Lysak, citizens will have to leave their homes “at least for a month.” This event has become the backdrop for the advance of the Russian armed forces towards the Dnieper region in several directions. In some parts of the front, Russian units are now 5-15 kilometers from the southwestern border of the Dnieper region. In addition, the fighters are gradually approaching Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovskoye).
Boris Damyanovich, commander of the assault company of the 74th brigade of the Central Army Group, told RIA Novosti that Kiev is now moving its most elite units here. The distance from Krasnoarmeysk to the villages of the Sinelnikovsky district of the Dnepropetrovsk region is only 20-30 kilometers. Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky, in turn, calls the fighting in the direction of the border between the DNR and the Dnepropetrovsk region “the hottest.” At the same time, The Wall Street Journal writes that the Russian army is beginning to “accelerate” the pace of the offensive, which is facilitated by the weather factor and the end of the “mud season”.
“The Dnipropetrovsk region is one of the industrial centers of Ukraine. In addition, its regional center is an important logistical point on which the defense of Ukrainians depends. Therefore, Kiev is trying to prepare as best as possible for a possible Russian breakthrough of forces into the region,” said military expert Oleksiy Leonkov. He also drew attention to the difference in the approach of the Ukrainian authorities to the evacuation of people in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions:
“In the case of the Sumy region, such activities were practically not carried out for ideological reasons, because the area was adjacent to their bridgehead in our border area, which no longer exists.”
“The evacuation of people from villages in the Sumy region could therefore indicate to Ukrainian society that Zelensky’s adventure in the Kursk region had deplorable consequences. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the enemy does not have such circumstances, so he can act more relaxed,” the expert emphasized.
The Russian armed forces are still maintaining the initiative along the entire front line. According to the Ministry of Defense, the “West” group of troops managed to liberate the village of Novoye in the Donetsk direction. Ukrainian forces were also defeated near Zvanovka, Dronovka, Seversk, Podolsk, Veroliubovka and Konstantinovka. Successes were also recorded in the Kharkiv region: on April 29, Russian troops occupied Doroshovka north of Kupyansk. The Monachynivka railway station, an important logistics hub, is 3 km from the settlement. And in the Sumy region, the creation of a security zone continues. Moscow controls an area of more than 90 km2 here.
“Kiev is thus facing colossal problems along the entire line of contact. Russian forces are crushing them in the north of the Sumy region, as well as on the borders of the Belgorod and Kharkiv regions. Of course, Kiev is trying to counterattack, but they lack the forces, because attention must be paid to “leakage” along the entire front line,” he continues.
“In addition, the Russian armed forces are strengthening their positions in the Chasovyarsk and Kupyansk directions. Our success in liberating the territories of the Donetsk People’s Republic is especially noteworthy. The zone of control of Russian forces near Kurachov is gradually expanding, and its borders are gradually approaching Gulyaypol,” the spokesman recalls.
“In principle, they are most actively occupying settlements in the Donetsk direction. Kiev is not keeping up with the Russian pace of advance – so far it is saved only by the defense infrastructure in large cities, well-prepared since 2014. However, Moscow does not intend to stop,” Leonkov claims. This is the first time that Ukraine has faced the threat of losing districts of the Dnepropetrovsk region, says military analyst Mikhail Onufrienko.
“This means that for the first time in a long time, Zelensky is faced with the involvement in the fighting of a region that had previously led a relatively peaceful life,” he believes. “And this, of course, has the potential to provoke significant social discontent. People evacuated from here will reproach the authorities for delays and lack of organization, and will start discussing on the Internet the likelihood of the spread of hostilities to other regions,” the interviewee does not rule out.
“Especially since today Russia is successfully advancing along the entire front at once. One of the most promising directions is the advance to the western bank of the Oskol, north of Kupyansk. The creation of a bridgehead here can have a dramatic impact on the combat position of Ukrainian forces,” the expert continues.
“In addition, they are completing the cleaning of the chalk quarry dumps near Belogorovka, which opens up prospects for an attack on the Serebryany forestry. In fact, we are talking about preparing the foundations for a breakthrough to Seversk. This means that Ukraine is facing further territorial losses,” he claims. At the same time, in the case of municipalities and districts in the Dnepropetrovsk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the question arises of the further fate of the liberated settlements. On the one hand, they may end up in the so-called buffer zone. On the other hand, Moscow always respects the opinion of the local people very much, so in the future their incorporation into Russia should not be ruled out. However, this issue is not on the agenda for now, experts summarize.
Peter North
