Fighting under way, Ukrainian military confirms, in central oblast that is not part of Russia’s illegal annexation. What we know on day 1,281

Ukraine acknowledged for the first time on Tuesday that Russia’s army had entered the Dnipropetrovsk region , a central administrative area previously spared from intense fighting. “Yes, they have entered, and fighting is ongoing as of now,” said Viktor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukrainian forces in Dnipro, Ukraine’s fourth-largest city. Russian forces have slowly gained ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Separately, Ukraine’s military general staff rejected Moscow’s claims to have fully captured the villages of Zaporizke and Novogeorgiivka just inside Dnipropetrovsk oblast. But battlefield monitor DeepState, which has close ties to Ukraine’s military, said on Tuesday that Russia had “occupied” them and was “consolidating its positions [and] accumulating infantry for a further advance”. Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions – Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea – that Moscow has illegally annexed as Russian territory .

Ukrainian men aged 18 to 22 are now allowed to cross the border freely in either direction under martial law , the prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, has announced. “This applies to all citizens in this age group. The decision also concerns citizens who, for various reasons, are located outside Ukraine,” said Svyrydenko. “We want Ukrainians to maintain a maximum of links with Ukraine.” Previous regulations introduced after Russia’s February 2022 invasion barred men aged 18-60 from leaving the country .

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had met with military leadership about the situation at the frontline and in the border areas . “We discussed in detail the key needs of each direction and units. It is very important that the nature of the situation in the border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv regions is determined by our units.” Ukraine’s president added: “Of course, we pay due attention to the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions . We discussed the needs for additional supplies for these directions. The commander-in-chief reported on the implementation of the headquarters’ decisions on providing reserves for the defence forces.”

Zelenskyy said contact was being made with Turkey, the Gulf states and European countries about hosting talks if Vladimir Putin ended up agreeing. “From our side, things will be prepared to the maximum in order to end the war,” said the Ukrainian president. Ukrainian top presidential aide Andriy Yermak and national security council chief Rustem Umerov were in Doha on Tuesday meeting with the Qataris. Zelenskyy added: “Russia is only giving signals that it is going to continue to avoid real negotiations. This can only be changed by strong sanctions, strong tariffs – real pressure.”

The Finnish president, Alexander Stubb, said he hoped Donald Trump’s patience with Putin would run out soon.Stubb said he had warned Trump that Putin was deploying a “typical” Russian delaying tactic to avoid meeting Zelenskyy. Finland and other European countries “will do everything we can do achieve lasting peace”, Stubb said.

On security guarantees for Ukraine , Zelenskyy said their “defence component … should be detailed in the near future”. In Brussels on Tuesday, the EU foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper said the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, had overnight been on a call with Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, and several European foreign ministers. European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said there should soon be a report from national security advisers on what would be put forward for Ukraine’s security .

A combat drone, presumed to be Ukrainian, went off course and exploded over Estonia without causing any casualties , the Baltic state and close Ukraine ally said on Tuesday, AFP reported. Pieces were found by an agricultural worker near the south-eastern town of Tartu, 75km (45 miles) from the border with Russia. Margo Palloson, director general of Estonia’s Internal Security Service (ISS), said it was believed the drone was aimed at Russia but “diverted from its trajectory by Russian GPS jamming and other electronic warfare means , causing it to enter Estonian airspace”.