Thousands of Russian troops are reportedly stranded on a deadly island in the Dnipro River, cut off from supply lines and left to starve, according to Ukrainian officials. Around 5,000 soldiers are said to be trapped in the 'death zone' south of Kherson, an area that has been a frontline since November 2022.
The right bank of the river is controlled by Ukraine, while the left remains under Russian control. With little cover available, Putin's forces are frequently targeted by drone strikes, and footage from the island shows soldiers attempting to hide by covering themselves in vegetation. In one clip, a group of troops cram into a small dinghy in a bid to escape the blasts.
Colonel Oleksandr Zavtonov of Ukraine's 30th Marine Corps described the area as a 'death zone for Russia', adding: 'There is nowhere to hide. The prisoners that our fighters recently took on the islands talked about the inability to deliver food and drinking water to them. They have to drink water from the river.'
Oksana Kuzan, head of the analytical department at the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, warned that Russian units remaining on the islands are facing serious problems with food, ammunition, and rotations. Ukrainian officials claim that around 5,100 Russian soldiers have died on the island since January.
The update comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed encouragement over the US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza and urged Donald Trump to apply similar pressure on Russia. Zelensky said he hopes Trump will use 'all the instruments: Tomahawks, sanctions, the diplomatic way, the financial way, tariffs, everything to stop Putin'. European leaders, including those from the UK, Germany, France, and others, have also called for peace, backing Trump's position that fighting should stop immediately and that the current line of contact should be the starting point for negotiations.
