Russia Claims Capture of Verbove in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Region

Russian Forces Claim Advance in Dnipropetrovsk

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, that its forces had captured the village of Verbove in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. This claim marks a reported acceleration of Russia's advance into an area that had largely been spared intensive ground offensives previously. According to the ministry's statement, Russian troops took control of Verbove, situated approximately 13 kilometers (8 miles) into the region. Some reports indicate the village is about 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) west of Kalynivske, which Russia claimed on September 22, or 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Pokrovske along the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk highway.

Pace of Advance and Regional Context

The claimed capture of Verbove follows a period where Russian forces reportedly advanced around 10 kilometers (6 miles) in the last 10 days in this sector of the front line. This pace is considered relatively fast given the protracted nature of the conflict, which has been ongoing for more than three and a half years. The Dnipropetrovsk region is notable as it is not among the five Ukrainian territories—Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Crimea—that Moscow has officially claimed as Russian land. Analysts suggest that deeper Russian advances into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, potentially around 15 kilometers (9 miles), could pose a threat to Ukrainian supply lines in the Donbas region.

Ukrainian Response and Verification Challenges

The Ukrainian military has not immediately commented on Russia's claim regarding Verbove. Independent verification of such battlefield claims remains challenging due to the ongoing hostilities. As recently as September 30, Lieutenant Colonel Oleksii Bielskyi, spokesperson for the Dnipro operational and strategic group of forces, had denied Russian advances in 'Verbne' and Ternove in the Dnipropetrovsk region, stating they remained under Ukrainian control. However, this was prior to the specific October 1 claim concerning Verbove. The Kyiv Independent noted it could not verify the recent Russian reports.

Broader Conflict Landscape

The war in Ukraine continues with both sides experiencing heavy losses and few major changes along heavily fortified front lines in recent months. The Russian army currently controls approximately one-fifth of Ukrainian territory. Analysis of data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicates that Moscow has captured around one percent of Ukraine's land over the past year. In the four weeks leading up to September 30, 2025, Russian forces gained 146 square miles of Ukrainian territory, a decrease from the previous four-week period.