As the United States and Russia begin talks to end the war, Moscow is pressing its advantage on the battlefield by closing in on Dnipropetrovsk, one of Ukraine’s largest regions and one with a major industrial base. Russian troops are now less than three miles from the region’s border, and they have been pushing forward in recent days.

Should the Russian Army cross from the eastern Donetsk region into Dnipropetrovsk, it would deal a big blow to morale in Ukraine — marking the fifth region to face partial Russian occupation and expanding Moscow’s control over the war-torn country. It could also complicate Kyiv’s position in territorial negotiations that might arise during peace talks.

The Russian advance has already reshaped the landscape of Dnipropetrovsk’s border area, once a quiet expanse of rolling fields and small villages. Now, trenches and anti-tank ditches line roads where convoys of armored vehicles pass. Tanks are concealed in tree lines. In villages closest to the front, soldiers have taken over buildings damaged by bombing or abandoned by locals.

The Ukrainian backpedaling can be seen in the westward relocation of the aid station where medics of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade treat wounded soldiers. Late last year, they retreated three times in as many months, hauling medical beds and blood banks in trucks with them.