From: Transform Ukraine By Douglas Landro / August 28, 2025
As Russian forces probe Dnipropetrovsk Oblast with small-scale infiltration tactics, Moscow launches massive energy strikes ahead of Winter 2025 while diplomatic pressure mounts over security guarantees
Summary of the Day – August 27, 2025
Russian forces employed new infiltration tactics to penetrate Ukrainian defenses in two border settlements of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, marking a strategic shift from large-scale mechanized assaults to small-group operations. The tactical evolution coincided with Moscow’s renewed assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure through a massive drone campaign that left over 100,000 households without power across multiple regions. Meanwhile, diplomatic tensions escalated as the Kremlin demanded private discussions on security guarantees while Ukrainian officials prepared for critical talks in New York. The day underscored Russia’s dual approach of adapting battlefield tactics while maintaining pressure through infrastructure attacks as winter approaches.
Small Groups, Big Ambitions: Russian Forces Test New Infiltration Strategy in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
Russian tactical forces successfully infiltrated Ukrainian defenses in Zaporizske and Novoheorhiivka, two settlements straddling the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk Oblast administrative border, employing tactics reminiscent of their operations near Dobropillya in early August. Ukrainian Dnipro Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Viktor Trehubov reported that Russian forces are operating within both settlements but have not established enduring positions, with Ukrainian counterattacks underway.
The infiltration represents a marked tactical evolution. Rather than the grinding mechanized assaults that characterized earlier phases of the conflict, Russian forces are now deploying small groups of five servicemembers who “infiltrate behind Ukrainian lines, wait and accumulate, and then attack in different directions simultaneously,” Trehubov explained.
This mirrors the infiltration tactics Russian forces attempted near Dobropillya, where they briefly penetrated Ukrainian lines but failed to exploit the breach with larger force groupings. The approach appears designed to overcome Ukrainian defensive advantages while minimizing exposure to drone and artillery strikes that have devastated larger Russian formations.
Voice of Ukraine 