Today, there are interesting updates from the Dnipropetrovsk direction. Here, the Russians opted for a daring move and managed to cross an important obstacle in the fog and deploy troops in a village, surprising the Ukrainian defense. The Ukrainians still managed to react quickly and engage the enemies, even turning the fog against them and capturing an intact Russian armored vehicle.The Russian assault on Novopavlivka began under the cover of dense fog, which prevented either side from fully relying on drones. Exploiting this rare window, Russian forces quickly set up a pontoon crossing between Yalta and Dachne and transported roughly ten armored vehicles across the river. Because the fog was extremely thick, Ukrainian surveillance detected the maneuver too late, allowing the Russians to disperse troops in the central and southern parts of the village. Russian analysts immediately glorified the event, claiming absurdly that the same vehicles not only made a successful 2-way trip with no losses, but also immediately picked up more troops upon the return and made the second 2-way trip undetected. Novopavlivka holds great tactical value, and if Russia captures it, its troops could push toward Mezhova from the south and severely weaken Ukraine’s defensive flank west of the Pokrovsk direction. This area has very few settlements suitable for establishing firm defensive lines, meaning any Russian advance north of Novopavlivka could unfold quickly. That is why the fog-aided Russian breakthrough created initial concern, but the truth of what happened differs from the Russian narrative.The Russians managed to make only one crossing, and even that came with losses, as while the fog limited drone visibility, Ukrainian operators still managed to detect and strike Russian equipment. Geolocated footage shows Russian tanks and armored vehicles being immobilized before the fog lifted fully and later destroyed once visibility improved. Even so, Russia succeeded in landing a limited number of troops who immediately scattered across houses, small shelters, and farm structures. Ukrainian infantry began clearing operations immediately, working building by building and street by street to root out infiltrators.Soon after, Ukrainian forces released another geolocated video from Novopavlivka, showing the elimination of the Russian equipment that had managed to slip into the village. One armored vehicle and several Russians, initially lucky enough to evade immediate detection, were spotted and destroyed by drone-dropped grenades. While Russian sources claimed that over 100 soldiers infiltrated the settlement, judging that their second cross indeed happened, Ukrainian officers estimated that no more than 50 made it inside. Ukrainian soldiers captured two Russians from a destroyed BMP-2 and even managed to seize a working BMP-1 as a trophy, using the fog as cover to their advantage this time. From these engagements alone, 15 Russian soldiers were killed, while more footage indicates that at least 25 out of the roughly 50 infiltrators have been eliminated or captured, meaning that in reality Russians made only 1 trip with 50% losses, not 2 trips with zero losses.Ukrainian drone operators continued to hunt the remaining infiltrators, destroying seven more Russians hiding among the houses in Novopavlivka. West of the village, at a nearby farm, Russian troops attempted to establish a foothold, but they were spotted by drones. Once Ukrainian operators struck them from the air with FPV drones, two Ukrainian marines moved in and cleared the site. This perfectly illustrates how battles unfold now, with tiny assault teams determining the fate of several square kilometers, while drones guide every step.To prevent the Russians from exploiting the fog again, Ukrainian forces also struck the rear where new troops were gathering. A Ukrainian F-16 carried out a bombing mission against Russian concentration points in the village of Filiya, destroying several buildings with soldiers inside. Simultaneously, Russian reinforcements attempting to cross the Vovcha River near Yalta got stuck in heavy mud. What could have become a breakthrough instead became a traffic jam of four armored vehicles, all of which were destroyed by Ukrainian FPV and Vampire drones moments later.Overall, despite the surprise of the initial fog-assisted crossing, Ukrainian defenders demonstrated resilience and adaptability. The battle for Novopavlivka is far from over, as Russian troops remain scattered inside the settlement, hiding and trying to build positions. Yet the Ukrainian response has blunted the momentum of the attack and prevented reinforcement waves. Because Novopavlivka’s location is so important, both sides understand the stakes, and more clashes…