Russian Military Claims Capture of Novoskelevatoye in Dnepropetrovsk Region Russian forces say they’ve flipped the map again in Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk region, proclaiming Novoskelevatoye “liberated” and recast as a launchpad for deeper advances across the Gaichur river. What this actually means on the ground, however, is filtered entirely through Moscow’s wartime vocabulary.

Moscow’s version: victory, “liberation,” and a new bridgehead

Russia’s Defense Ministry, via state media, frames Novoskelevatoye as a clean-cut win by assault units of the 36th separate motorized rifle brigade, part of the 29th army’s Battlegroup East. The line is consistent: Russian troops have “liberated Novoskelevatoye” in the Dnepropetrovsk region, and in the process “destroy[ed] up to [a] platoon of Ukrainian troops” there.

Strategically, Moscow touts more than a dot on the map. The operation “enables Russia to secure [a] foothold on [the] western bank of Gaichur,” a position it says “creates conditions for the further advance of Battlegroup East’s troops in the Dnepropetrovsk region.”

What’s missing: Kyiv’s account, independent verification

Every detail in the current narrative comes from Russian official and state-linked channels. There is no Ukrainian statement here on whether Novoskelevatoye has fallen, how contested the area remains, or what losses either side sustained. Casualty figures—like the claim Russia “destroys up to platoon of Ukrainian troops”—cannot be independently checked from this dataset and follow a familiar pattern of one-sided battlefield body counts.

The bigger picture: a local gain, a propaganda stage

Tactically, a foothold west of the Gaichur, if accurate, would matter: it offers staging ground for pushes deeper into Dnepropetrovsk region.

Politically, though, the story serves another purpose. Repeated headlines declaring “liberation” and enemy losses help Moscow project momentum at home and abroad, even as the wider front remains grinding and attritional.

[1] TASS – “Russia destroys up to platoon of Ukrainian troops in Novoskelevatoye” – Assault units of the 36th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 29th army of Battlegroup East are credited with liberating Novoskelevatoye. https://tass.com/defense/2152423

[2] TASS – “Russia destroys up to platoon of Ukrainian troops in Novoskelevatoye” – Russian reports highlight the destruction of up to a platoon of Ukrainian troops in the settlement. https://tass.com/defense/2152385

[3] TASS – “Liberation of Novoskelevatoye enables Russia to secure foothold on western bank of Gaichur” – The captured line is described as creating conditions for further advance of Battlegroup East in the Dnepropetrovsk region. https://tass.com/defense/2152387

[4] TASS – “Russian troops liberate settlement of Novoskelevatoye in Dnepropetrovsk region — top brass” – Russian top brass report the settlement’s liberation as part of a broader series of territorial gains. https://tass.com/defense/2152421