"They Took A Selfie and Died." Russia's Dnipropetrovsk Try Ends Badly

The vaunted Russian incursion into Dnipropetrovsk turns out to have been a few Russian scouts darting into the area, taking a selfie and then being killed by Ukrainian forces who picked up on the transmission. 

A fitting illustration of Russian military fortunes in this war. JL

Julia Struck reports in the Kyiv Post:

Russian reconnaissance forces briefly entered Dachne, but were eliminated shortly afterwards. Videos circulating on pro-Russian Telegram channels showed Moscow’s troops supposedly occupying dugouts in Dachne and raising a Russian flag. “Reports of Russian propaganda about securing a bridgehead in the Dnipropetrovsk region do not correspond to reality. The enemy managed to snap a photo with a Russian tricolor, but that was their last activity. Ukrainian soldiers destroyed them.”

Russian propagandists claimed that their forces captured the village of Dachne in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region – the first in the region to fall, they said. Ukraine’s General Staff says the “capture” was nothing more than a staged propaganda stunt.

Videos circulating on pro-Russian Telegram channels showed Moscow’s troops supposedly occupying dugouts in Dachne and raising a Russian flag – supporting claims that the village was “completely captured.”

 

However, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) denied the claims, stating that while Russian reconnaissance forces briefly entered Dachne, they were eliminated shortly afterwards.

 

“The enemy managed to snap a photo with a Russian tricolor, but that was their last activity,” the statement said. “Ukrainian soldiers destroyed the invaders.”

They confirmed that small Russian infantry and sabotage groups have been attempting to cross the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions but have failed to secure any ground.

 

In one of the recent clashes, two Russian soldiers were captured by Ukrainian Naval Infantry allowing them to say they had “added to the prisoner exchange fund.”

 

“Reports of Russian propaganda about securing a bridgehead in the Dnipropetrovsk region do not correspond to reality. Dachne remains under the control of Ukraine’s Defense Forces,” the statement said.

 

The head of Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate, Kyrylo Budanov, said there is no threat to the city of Dnipro other than missile and drone attacks. He confirmed ongoing fighting along the southeastern edge of the region, but noted that this has been the case for “quite a long time.”

 

Before the official AFU statement, Junior Sergeant Stanislav Bunyatov of the 24th Aidar Assault Battalion commented on the alleged capture of Dachne on Telegram, saying, “We must not forget about the rest of the Donetsk region – it’s part of the shield protecting the rest of Ukraine.”

Bunyatov added, “Before the full-scale invasion, some suggested giving up territory to stabilize the situation. But reality has shown this would only accelerate Russia’s advance.”

The Ukrainian OSINT group DeepState has reported Russia trying to establish a “gray zone” on regional borders, but Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, stressed that although Russian drones have been active in the area, “there has been no breakthrough.”

Spokesman for the “Khortytsia” operational-strategic group, Viktor Tregubov, added: “There are very active battles in villages near the border – Yalta, Komar, Shevchenkove – but our forces are holding the line.”