Russia denies the Holodomor was a genocide against Ukrainians. Right now, Russian state media calls it a "hoax invented by the West's propaganda machine". Moscow's official line: it was merely a "tragedy that affected the entire Soviet people."

But the evidence is overwhelming: between 1932 and 1933, Joseph Stalin engineered an artificial famine that killed roughly four million Ukrainians—13% of the population. Declassified KGB documents even reveal exactly how the Soviet Union spent decades covering up the crime.

So what was the Holodomor, and why does Russia still refuse to admit what really happened?

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What was the Holodomor, and why did the Soviet Union try so hard to erase it?

In 2017, Ukraine’s Secret Service declassified files that had been hidden in KGB archives for decades.

The documents revealed a systematic disinformation campaign: pay Western journalists to write favorable articles. “Brainwash” intellectuals before foreign trips. Deploy biased experts to suppress any mention of a Soviet famine. As late as 1988 – fifty-five years after the fact—KGB reports still called truth-telling a “provocative anti-Soviet campaign.”

“The information received by the KGB of the Ukrainian SSR indicates that the enemy’s intelligence services and centers of ideological subversion … will increase their activity in using the defamatory materials they have gathered about the ‘causes of the famine.’”

 

“The State Security Committee of the republic is carrying out measures aimed at exposing the provocative nature of the anti-Soviet campaign,“ said the 1988 reports.

What were they so desperate to hide?

Between 1932 and 1933, Joseph Stalin engineered an artificial famine that killed four million Ukrainians—13% of the population.

At its peak, 28,000 people died every day. This wasn’t drought or crop failure; it was deliberate policy.

Stalin’s government confiscated the entire harvest from Ukrainian villages. They seized livestock. They made possession of food a criminal offense – people were shot on the spot for hiding a sack of potatoes. Military checkpoints blockaded starving villages to prevent escape. Meanwhile, trains carried millions of tons of seized Ukrainian grain to Western Europe for export.

The Holodomor killed three times as many people as Auschwitz. But unlike the Holocaust, which the world has spent eight decades documenting, Stalin’s genocide was buried under decades of enforced silence.

The coverup worked. Most of the world knew nothing until Soviet archives opened in the 1990s.

Even today, Russian authorities continue to deny that this crime ever happened.

Dive into our archives:

What to read about the Holodomor at Euromaidan Press

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Why did Stalin target Ukrainian peasants specifically?

After the Russian Empire collapsed following its defeat in the war with Japan and other social factors, Ukraine declared its independence.

This period lasted approximately 3–4 years, from 1918 to 1921, after which Ukraine again came under Soviet rule. It was during that time that, in order to isolate the “enemies of Soviet power,” leader of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 Vladimir Lenin, and his associates created concentration camps. One of these was located in Kyiv.

Despite the looting, violence, and killings of civilians, the national liberation movement continued. The main force resisting Bolshevik policies were Ukrainian peasants, skilled agricultural workers and property owners. In a single year, they organized 5,000 protests.

It was at that moment that Stalin came up with a horrific idea for how to subdue the regime’s main enemies. Force them to work several times harder, seize the entire harvest, isolate the villages, and set up blockade posts so they could not escape or find food. This led to the slow death of millions of Ukrainians.

The confiscated food was exported to Western countries. Ukrainians were dying, but they were feeding Germany, England, Holland, Denmark, and Poland.

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Holodomor: Stalin’s punishment for 5,000 peasant revolts

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How do you starve 4 million people without the world noticing?

Physical isolation: Stalin and Molotov’s January 1933 directive banned Ukrainians from leaving the Ukrainian SSR and Kuban region—applied to no other Soviet territory. Military troops blockaded “blacklisted” villages. Internal passports were denied to farmers so they couldn’t travel.

Destroying evidence: Soviet authorities systematically confiscated and destroyed photographs. Death certificates couldn’t list “starvation” as cause—officials recorded “typhus,” “exhaustion,” or “old age” instead. Registry books were seized by secret police in 1934.

Silencing resistance: More than 21,000 criminal cases document arrests during 1932-33 for resisting grain confiscation, hiding food, or speaking out. Inside the Soviet Union, any mention of the famine was forbidden as anti-Soviet propaganda.

Manipulating Western press: Foreign correspondents were barred from entering Ukraine in 1933. Some promoted the SOviet narrative. Walter Duranty of The New York Times—who’d just won a 1932 Pulitzer Prize – publicly denied the famine while privately telling a British diplomat in September 1933 that “as many as 10 million” had died. Simultaneously, Stalin exported seized grain abroad, making Ukraine appear to prosper.

The KGB campaign: Declassified documents reveal systematic disinformation: pay Western journalists, suppress academics. As late as 1988, KGB memos called truth-telling “provocative anti-Soviet campaign.”

Most survivors couldn’t speak publicly until the late 1980s.

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Documents reveal Soviet repressions against those resisting Holodomor genocidal famine

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How many Ukrainians died, and why don't we know the exact number?

The best scientific estimate: approximately 4 million Ukrainians starved to death.

But you’ll see figures ranging from 1.8 million to 15 million. Why such variation?

Because Stalin’s coverup worked. Without accurate death records, estimates rely on demographic analysis – comparing expected population levels with actual census data.

The most rigorous study came in 2015 from demographers at the Ukrainian Institute of Demographic and Social Studies and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: 3.9 million direct deaths, plus 0.6 million unborn children. That’s 13.3% of Ukraine’s population wiped out in two years.

Early estimates from the Ukrainian diaspora cited 7-10 million, based on what eyewitnesses saw and reported. Without access to Soviet archives, precise calculation was impossible.

Why accuracy matters: Historian Hennadiy Yefimenko warns that unrealistically high estimates undermine genocide recognition. The number is devastating enough without inflation—and scientifically defensible estimates strengthen the case for recognition.

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So how many Ukrainians died in the Holodomor?

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Who managed to document the genocide despite Soviet efforts to destroy all evidence?

A Canadian woman got there first. In 1932, journalist Rhea Clyman published dozens of articles in Toronto’s Evening Telegram exposing the famine. Soviet authorities denounced her reports as “completely fabricated” and expelled her from the USSR.

Then her work vanished for 80 years. It wasn’t rediscovered until the 2000s, buried in archives – exactly as Stalin intended.

A year later, Welsh journalist Gareth Jones made it through. He’d been an advisor to British Prime Minister David Lloyd George, which helped him get a Soviet visa. He arranged a trip to industrial Kharkiv but got off the train in Ukrainian villages instead.

“I went through a lot of villages and twelve collective farms. Everywhere I heard crying: “We have no bread. We die!” “Say to England that we will die of the famine.”

 

“There is hunger almost everywhere. Millions die from it. I travelled for several days in Ukraine, and there was no bread. The children had stomachaches, all the horses and cows were dying, and the people were also dying of hunger. The terror was on an unheard-of scale,” the British journalist recalled.

After witnessing this, he held a press conference in Berlin, where he publicly spoke about the Holodomor in Ukraine for the first time. Jones published dozens of articles about these terrible years.

A few years later, Jones was shot. According to British intelligence, a representative of the Bolshevik International was involved in the murder.

In 2019, Polish director Agnieszka Holland made a movie about the brave British journalist, “Mr. Jones.”

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Hunger for Truth: Documentary about Canadian journalist who was first to report about Holodomor

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Did anyone manage to photograph the Holodomor?

Barely.

Soviet authorities systematically seized and destroyed any visual evidence. Cameras were confiscated. Film was destroyed. Anyone caught photographing the dying risked arrest or worse.

Only a few remarkable individuals, such as Austrian engineer Alexander Wienerberger, managed to secretly snap and preserve such photos.

Wienerberger worked at the Kharkiv Plastmas Plant in 1932 and 1933. This is what he wrote about Russian-made Holodomor in his book:

“Food reserves were searched with bayonets. When the Soviet authorities realized that hungry peasants would flock to the cities in search of food, they stopped selling rail tickets for six months.” 

 

“There were more and more victims. In winter (1933-Ed), bodies of young children, mainly school-aged children, were found in remote places and local wells. Street gangs killed these poor wretches to sell their clothes at the local markets.”

 

“For months, the cemetery guard had been feeding his pigs with dead bodies. There was great demand for his pork meat.” 

When Wienerberger returned to Austria in 1934, he compiled 25 photographs into an album titled Die Hungertragödie in Südrussland 1933 (The Tragedy of Famine in South Russia, 1933). He presented it to Cardinal Theodor Innitzer, who had established an interfaith humanitarian relief committee to aid the starving.

Did the photos convince anyone to help?

Cardinal Innitzer tried. He publicly called for assistance, using Wienerberger’s photographs as evidence of mass death and cannibalism.

Moscow’s response? They denied the famine existed and refused all aid.

But Wienerberger’s album survived. It still sits in the Diocesan Archive in Vienna – physical proof that no amount of Soviet denial could completely erase.

Explore this extraordinary archive here:

Austrian engineer captures the horror of the Holodomor in 1932-33

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What does a body go through when it is starved to death?

A person slowly died from starvation over a period of several weeks to several months. In addition to weakness, pain, and the gradual failure of organs, there were even more terrifying consequences. Hunger drove people insane.

The most painful pages of the Soviet genocide include over 2,500 criminal cases related to acts of cannibalism, BBC reports. Some, unfortunately, involve cases in which parents ate only their newborn children and then died themselves, as per NV. Many others took their own lives.

“In the Novo-Vasylivka district, there is a trade in the corpses of cats, dogs and the meat of fallen horses by speculative elements among the peasants. 

 

The selling price of a dog is on average 12 rubles, the meat of a fallen horse – 6-8 rubles per kg. In most cases, payment is made in things (rugs, clothes, etc.).” (Dnipropetrovsk regional department, 5 March, 1933).

 

“On the grounds of famine, 6 cases of cannibalism were noted. There are cases of a father deliberately killing his two children because he had nothing to feed the latter.” (Vinnytsia Regional Department, 9 March).

 

“Recently, we have noted a significant increase in corpse eating and cannibalism.

 

Every day I receive 10 or more reports from the districts. In some cases, cannibalism even becomes a habit.” (Kyiv Regional Department, 12 March).

This trauma doesn’t fade. It gets passed from grandparents to grandchildren, embedded in family histories. That’s why even today, Ukrainians can’t look at full grain silos without remembering when Stalin turned abundance into weapon.

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What were people forced to eat to survive?

Today we live in a very different world: most people try to eat healthily, choose organic products, and go to gyms, viewing diet and physical activity as a matter of choice and comfort.

Back then, during the Holodomor, the choice was simply whether or not to survive.

Pinecone and needle soup, bread made from mashed grass, and pancakes from tree bark. These were the daily meals of Ukrainian peasants during the artificial famine imposed by the Soviet Union in 1932–1933.

Students of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy launched an online “restaurant,” showcasing survival “recipes.”

A few examples:

• Bread from tree bark and straw
• Palianchyky — baked potato scraps mixed with leftover grains.
• Hlibtsi — straw combined with millet and buckwheat husks, ground together with hemp cake.

With meals like these, a person could survive for a few weeks to a few months, but long-term survival without serious health problems was impossible.

The body would suffer from vitamin deficiencies, metabolic disorders, weakened immunity, digestive issues, and exhaustion. Without proper, balanced nutrition, it is impossible to sustain life for more than 3–6 months.

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Treebark pancakes and pinecone soup: “dishes” from Ukrainian 1930’s Holodomor famine served in Brussels

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What do real witnesses say?

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The horror of the Holodomor is not only in statistics, but in the voices of those who lived it.

Anna Slobodian remembers: “People supported each other. They helped each other.”

Meanwhile, fields were guarded. Potato and beet crops were left unharvested.

“They watched over the fields, driving people away, shooting over their heads… and that’s how the harvest rotted.”

 

“We cried every day because we were hungry. We had huge bellies already. There was nothing else to think about,” Anna says.

Vasylina Yarovenko recalls:

“They took away grain… everything. They left nothing in the house. On the wide long street at the edge of our village, there used to be many children — and those children were dying, one after another, one after another.”

She describes how she scraped the insides of corn cobs into tiny pieces and cooked them on the stove, amid survival in its most desperate form.

Hryhoriy Shykyriavyi was six years old in 1933:

“Our street was a passage used to bring the dead to the cemetery. I went out and saw how one person led the horses with a dray with only two people walking behind, and no one around.”

His father risked execution under the “Five Ears of Grain Law” to collect leftover grain from fields:

“I look, and there is a newly-dug grave, so I hid the grain there. No one will be searching for it there,” he recalls.

Tamara Konoshchuk remembers the mass burials:

“There was no one to dig graves, all of the people were too weak… So one large pit was dug and all the dead were brought on wheelbarrows, wrapped in linens or in rags, because there were no coffins… Into one large pit, no one knows how many bodies were thrown into it.”

Mariia Tilna tells the story of a woman called Sekreta:

“She had four little children. She went to cut wheat, was caught, and sentenced. She died in prison.”

Mariia adds that those who ate too much suddenly — they died. One extreme was even worse.

“One old woman… she ate her own child. It happened in 1933. It stays with you forever. Forever burned into your memory,” she said.

These aren’t statistics. These are the voices Stalin tried to silence forever. They survived to bear witness.

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“Let me take the wife too, when I reach the cemetery she will be dead.” Stories of Holodomor survivors

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Was the Holodomor a genocide?

Russia says no. Moscow’s official line: it was a tragedy that affected “the entire Soviet people.”

But the evidence tells a different story.

The UN Genocide Convention defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”

Did Stalin specifically target Ukrainians?

Yes. The policies applied in Ukraine were exceptional. Stalin didn’t just impose harsh collectivization everywhere—he deployed special measures specifically against Ukrainians: sealing borders so people couldn’t escape, confiscating not just grain but ALL food from homes, imposing exceptionally high penalties, and blockading villages with military checkpoints.

What about other regions that suffered famine?

Critics point to deaths outside Ukraine’s borders. But ethnographic maps from the 1930s reveal those regions—like the Kuban—were heavily populated by ethnic Ukrainians. Stalin knew exactly who he was killing.

And it wasn’t just about food. Simultaneously, Stalin imprisoned Ukrainian intellectuals, writers, artists, and political leaders. This wasn’t targeting a social class (peasants)—it was destroying a nation. Combined, these 1932-1933 policies killed 15% of all Ukrainians.

Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish lawyer who coined the term “genocide” after the Holocaust, called the Holodomor a “classic example of Soviet genocide”—the longest and widest attempt to Russify and destroy the Ukrainian nation.

Today, roughly 35 countries recognize the Holodomor as genocide.

Russia still refuses. The same pattern repeats today: deny the crime, rewrite the history, blame the victims.

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Was Holodomor a genocide? Examining the arguments

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Why does Holodomor recognition matter today?

The Soviet leaders who engineered the Holodomor were never held accountable. Stalin and his inner circle escaped justice – and that impunity enables Russia’s war today.

Because when genocide goes unpunished, the pattern repeats.

Putin explicitly calls Ukraine “not a real nation” and Ukrainians “lesser Russians” – the same colonial mindset that enabled Stalin to starve 4 million. When a government believes your nation doesn’t truly exist, genocide becomes thinkable.

The methods persist too. Nearly 90% of Ukrainian prisoners returning from Russian captivity are severely malnourished. “Hunger did strange things to us,” recalls former POW Dmytro. “Inside, it spun so that it felt like we could fall to our knees for a crumb.”

Even the denial playbook is identical. Moscow denied the Holodomor for 90 years. After the 2014 invasion, Russian state media escalated dramatically, now calling it a “hoax”—the same propaganda machine denying Bucha and Mariupol.

In occupied territories of Ukraine, denial has escalated to active suppression: Russian forces destroyed Holodomor memorials and now threaten anyone who lights candles on memorial day. They’re not just rewriting history, but erasing it in real time.

And now the proposed US “peace plan” offers Putin the same escape: avoid accountability, keep seized territory, legitimize conquest. Sound familiar? If Stalin faced no consequences for killing 4 million Ukrainians, why should Putin face consequences for killing thousands?

That’s what recognition means. Not acknowledging history for its own sake, but breaking the cycle of impunity.

Every country that refuses to call the Holodomor genocide signals that mass murder of Ukrainians has no consequences. And that permission structure is what enables the war happening right now.

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History, Identity and Holodomor Denial: Russia’s continued assault on Ukraine

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Moscow has launched 23 ground-launched 9M729 “Novator” cruise missiles against Ukraine, capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. The production of these missiles was prohibited under the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty), UkrInform reports.

As per Reuters, the occupiers used the missile to strike Lviv Oblast this fall. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has not provided details or dates of the 9M729 strikes. However, a senior official stated that they began on 21 August, less than a week after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

Ukraine urges OSCE to go beyond “expressing concern”

Oleksandr Sorochyk, First Secretary of Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, called on OSCE member states to go “beyond merely expressing concern,” strengthen sanctions against Russia, and support mechanisms for holding Moscow accountable.

“Any less decisive action will be perceived by Moscow as permission to continue its terror,” the Ukrainian diplomat emphasized.

The nuclear-capable missile exceeds 1,200 km

Sorochyk stressed that Russia continues to blatantly violate the INF Treaty, developing and deploying banned systems well before the treaty’s formal expiration, systematically breaching obligations and publicly denying them.

“We have confirmed evidence that Russia has used 9M729 ‘Novator’ cruise missiles (NATO classification: SSC-8 ‘Screwdriver’), a ground-launched system capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and explicitly banned under the INF Treaty,” he said.

The Ukrainian diplomat noted that Russia's production of this missile was the reason the US withdrew from the INF Treaty in August 2019.

“The missile’s range exceeds 1,200 km,” he added.

Sorochyk also detailed Russia’s massive aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities over the past week: during this period alone, Russia launched 1,718 strike drones and 70 missiles, including 25 ballistic missiles.

Russia's war causes both human and environmental disasters. The Ukrainian government plans to demand nearly $44 billion in compensation from Moscow for environmental damage caused by CO2 emissions and the destruction of nature, Reuters reports. 

This would be the first case in history in which a country seeks damages for increased emissions from the use of fossil fuels, cement, and steel in warfare, as well as from the destruction of trees in fires.

According to Dutch carbon accounting expert Lennard de Klerk, Russia’s war against Ukraine has caused approximately 237 million tons of additional CO2 emissions, roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of Ireland, Belgium, and Austria combined.

"A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests," said Deputy Minister of Economy Pavlo Kartashov at the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.

Frozen Russian assets could cover compensation

De Klerk estimated the social cost of CO2 emissions at around $185 per ton. Billions of dollars in frozen Russian assets could potentially be used to cover claims from Ukrainian citizens and legal entities, which have already submitted approximately 70,000 compensation applications.

The Droid TW 12.7 unmanned ground system (UGS), operated by Ukrainian troops from the 3rd Assault Brigade, replaced an infantry position and held it for one and a half months. This was reported by the commander of the NC13 strike UGS company known as "Makar" in an interview with DevDroid. 

According to DevDroid, the company that manufactures the robot, such a system can be delivered within 45 days, with a price range of $26,000 to $29,000.

Ukraine's infantry gains a resilient ally

“According to Makar, these deployments lasted one and a half months. During this time, the Droid TW 12.7 successfully completed multiple combat missions, engaging enemy forces,” the company said.

Russian forces were unable to breach the defensive line, as they were continuously under fire from the system. 

Makar emphasizes the value of such systems in supporting troops. 

“These platforms can assist infantry units, supporting them in offensive operations and covering them during defense. They help reduce the load on infantry soldiers,” Makar explained.

The UGS was officially codified by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine at the end of 2024.

The US President Donald Trump administration and Russian officials have reportedly developed a new proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, without involving Kyiv in its creation. The plan envisions significant concessions by Ukraine, the Financial Times has reported. Meanwhile, there is no information on whether the plan includes security guarantees, reparations, or details on how the return of children to Ukraine would be implemented. 

Sources familiar with the effort say the architect of the plan is Kirill Dmitriev, the Russian president's envoy. Dmitriev has previously visited the US and made statements regarding Moscow’s nuclear tests held on 21-22 October.

He said “the security of the whole world” depends on peaceful US–Russia relations and warned the Trump administration about “complete annihilation of humanity."

During the drills, Russia launched a Yars ballistic missile toward the US. 

28 points pushing Ukraine to the brink of capitulation

The plan reportedly contains 28 points, many of which have long been considered red lines for Ukraine. One source said that accepting the plan could mean Ukraine relinquishing its sovereignty.

Key demands reportedly include:

• Ceding the remaining eastern Donbas, including areas currently under Kyiv’s control
• Halving the size of Ukraine’s armed forces
• Giving up key categories of weapons and ending US military aid
• No foreign troops allowed on Ukrainian soil
• Kyiv would no longer receive long-range Western weapons capable of reaching deep into Russia

Without critical defensive capabilities, Ukraine would be left vulnerable to future Russian aggression. NATO has also reportedly indicated that Ukraine would not join the Alliance under this plan.

Language and church as political tools of the Kremlin

The plan reportedly calls for recognizing Russian as an official state language in Ukraine and granting official status to the local branch of the Russian Orthodox Church.

One source familiar with the document described it as very general and “heavily tilted towards Russia”. Another source said it was “very comfortable for Putin.”

Officials in Kyiv who have reviewed the proposal said it closely aligns with the Kremlin’s maximalist demands and stressed that it would be unacceptable for Ukraine without substantial changes.

German media outlets WDR, NDR, and Süddeutsche Zeitung have reported that a Russian spacecraft is conducting dangerous maneuvers over Europe. Russian satellites have repeatedly approached German satellites in recent years, coming close enough to potentially intercept their signals.

According to the French company Aldoria, which monitors space activity, Russian satellites have approached German satellites at distances as close as 140 km since April 2023, sufficient to intercept signals. In August 2024, the reconnaissance satellite “Luch” approached a German military satellite to just 88 km.

Space becomes a new front: attacks from Earth and communication disruptions

In early summer 2024, Russia disrupted another German military satellite via a ground station, causing hours-long signal outages.

“We are under threat. Russia indeed has the capabilities to create significant interference in space,” admitted Bundeswehr Space Command commander Major General Michael Traut.

€35 billion for security: Germany prepares for space warfare

Meanwhile, the German federal government has introduced its first national space security strategy. The Ministry of Defense plans to invest €35 billion by 2030 in the program. A key element of the strategy is the cooperation with European and international partners as well as NATO allies.

At the Lychakiv Military Cemetery in Lviv, known as the Mars Field, only 19 burial spaces remain. The city has begun preparing a new site for fallen Ukrainian defenders, local authorities reported.

The price of Ukrainian freedom is measured in names, not only in kilometers

With Section 86 of the Field of Honor now filled, the new burial site for fallen defenders will be located on the former Hill of Glory, with its Soviet symbolism fully removed during the decommunization period.

“It will now become Section 87 of the Field of Honor, within the boundaries of the Lychakiv Cemetery,” Lviv authorities said.

The site already features a main ceremonial alley with year-round, weather-resistant paving, a designated area for military honors cleared of all Soviet ideological elements, and space reserved for future memorial architecture, which will be selected through a professional competition.

Ukrainian cities work to preserve the memory of their heroes

The location was approved by a working group on commemorating the national-liberation struggle of the Heroes of Ukraine, which includes veterans, families of the fallen, architects, scholars, and other experts.

Lviv is also planning a city-wide military memorial cemetery that will follow international standards for honoring service members. Officials are currently evaluating several potential locations large enough to support such a site.

“This will be a place where all who defended Ukraine can be laid to rest with dignity, both those who died in the war and those who returned home and passed in peaceful times. Each of them gave a part of themselves for our freedom,” Yevhen Boiko, executive officer of the Lviv City Council’s Executive Committee, said.

Among those recently buried at the Mars Field was 25-year-old paramedic Iryna Tsybukh of the “Hospitallers” battalion. She left a farewell note before her death. Read it here. 

Kyiv has been offered a “Kremlin peace plan” under the guise of negotiations. The US and Russia have reportedly prepared a peace plan for Ukraine that would involve Kyiv meeting the Kremlin’s maximalist demands, says Christopher Miller, a correspondent for the Financial Times. 

At the same time, Reuters sources report that the US indicated to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Kyiv should accept Washington-prepared frameworks for ending the war with Russia. It remains unclear what security guarantees would be given for Kyiv, as there is no evidence that the Kremlin has abandoned its imperial ambitions. 

Earlier, Axios wrote that Washington and Moscow were discussing a new peace plan to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russia simultaneously pressures Ukraine with attacks on civilians

Sources indicate that the plan comprises 28 points. It is said to have been inspired by the Trump administration’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. 

The same pattern has been witnessed in previous US President Donald Trump's efforts to end the war in Ukraine by negotiating with Russia. He himself recognized that Moscow kills Ukrainian civilians each time after holding talks or phone calls with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin. 

Conditions could halt US military aid to Ukraine

The plan reportedly includes Ukraine giving up territories and certain types of weapons, as well as reducing the size of its armed forces.

Miller reported that Ukraine received an urgent proposal from the Russian president's envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, and the US special representative, Steve Witkoff, which was delivered to Rustem Umerov, the Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

According to him, the proposal is effectively equivalent to "Ukraine’s capitulation.” Key points include:

• Halving Ukraine’s army
• Giving up certain types of weapons
• Surrendering control of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts

The plan was reportedly drafted by a group of current and former American and Russian officials and remains at the conceptual level, RBC reports.

The plan also reportedly calls for halting US military aid to Ukraine, leaving the country vulnerable to further aggression. It mentions recognizing Russian as an official state language and granting official status to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. 

Ukraine security service arrests Orthodox priest spying for Russian intelligence. He had Russian passport, Kalashnikov ammunition, and knives

Sources described the plan as “very convenient” for Putin 

However, unnamed Ukrainian officials told the Financial Times that it is unacceptable without substantial changes.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that numerous peace processes have been activated amid Russia’s war against Ukraine. These efforts must aim at achieving a dignified peace, he stated. 

“We are working to ensure that all activity is focused on a dignified peace and guaranteed security. The war must end; there is no alternative to peace,” Zelenskyy said during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

He added that Russia must understand that it will receive no rewards for waging war.

A political explosion has erupted in Kyiv. On 19 November, the Ukrainian parliament voted to dismiss Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk amid a massive corruption scandal in “Energoatom.” The events are unfloding at a moment when Russia is deliberately destroying Ukraine’s energy system.

The decision became the culmination of an investigation by Ukraine's anti-corruption agencies, which uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in Energoatom. According to investigators, the suspects managed to “launder” $100 million. Some of the money was transferred to Russia, BBC reports. 

Liudmyla Suhak, currently responsible for European integration, has been appointed as the acting head of the Ministry of Justice. Who will replace Hrynchuk remains unknown.

Scandalous ties that shocked parliament and the entire country

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded the dismissal of both ministers back on 12 November, stressing, “This is a matter of trust. If there are accusations, they must be answered.”

On 14 November, the fifth day after the publication of the “Midas” intercepted calls recordings, which have exposed the scheme, the president removed Hrynchuk and Halushchenko from the National Security and Defense Council.

Personal details also emerged in court, indicating that both officials engaged in relationships that went beyond their professional roles. The investigators claimed that Hrynchuk repeatedly spent the night at Halushchenko’s apartment. This occurred on the night of 23 July, on 28 July, and on the night of 12 August, as per TSN. Both officials are divorced. Hrynchuk denied these claims.

According to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the scheme was organized by businessman and longtime Zelenskyy's associate Tymur Mindich, co-owner of “Kvartal 95.” Energoatom suppliers were required to pay a 10–15% kickback. Otherwise, they would simply not be allowed through the state company’s “checkpoint.”

The entire Ukraine waits as Zelenskyy announces further "decisive steps"

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy, currently on a visit to Turkiye, has announced important decisions upon his return to Ukraine.

“I am preparing several necessary legislative initiatives and principled, rapid decisions that our state needs," he says.

The Ukrainian leader has also ordered preparations for a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff. Discussions with the government, the Ukrainian parliament, and his Servant of the People faction are also planned. 

At the same time, the High Anti-Corruption Court continues to consider preventive measures for the suspects. The entire country is watching as one of the largest anti-corruption cases of wartime unfolds. 

Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reports that the Kremlin has announced a suspension of agreements to establish a naval logistics base in Port Sudan. The base was intended to become Russia’s first full-scale naval facility in Africa since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

The suspension highlights Moscow’s limited resources for expanding overseas military infrastructure, as it focuses virtually all of its capabilities on the war in Ukraine.

A strategic blow to Russia's ambitions in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea

The project, which had envisioned stationing up to 300 personnel and four ships for 25 years with an option to extend, was reportedly put on hold by Russia due to escalating civil conflict in Sudan.

Port Sudan was considered a key element for maintaining a permanent Russian presence in the Indian Ocean, controlling the Red Sea, and securing access to the Suez Canal region. Its suspension, therefore, represents a significant strategic setback for Moscow.

The war against Ukraine drains Russia's naval forces

Even if the project had been implemented, the Russian Navy’s operational capabilities would remain constrained by the war in Ukraine, the agency continues. 

This is reflected in a sharp decline in activity in the Mediterranean: in recent months, Russian operations have been limited to occasional deployments of a single submarine of the 877/636 class.

This reduction is attributed to the loss of operational support at the Tartus port in Syria, which had provided repair and logistical services for Russian forces. By comparison, in 2018, Russia maintained at least two submarines and around ten surface vessels at Tartus.

“In this context, the Kremlin is shifting its focus to the Baltic Sea and the Arctic,” the intelligence service noted.

Earlier, Norwegian Defense Minister Ture Sandvik stated that Russia was strengthening its Arctic presence, directing nuclear weapons toward the US.

Oslo has detected expanded weapons development on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, home to the valuable Northern Fleet and part of Russia’s nuclear arsenal.

On 19 November 2025, 25 people were killed in Ternopil, a city in the west of Ukraine, after a precision Kh-101 cruise missile struck a nine-story residential building. The missile carried a 450-kg warhead containing components from the US, China and Taiwan, Germany, and the Netherlands, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.

Ukrainian officials note that such tragedies could have been prevented if Russia had not found ways to bypass international sanctions in the fourth year of its all-out war.  

Unrestricted terror against residential areas

By 4:00 PM, Ukrainian authorities have recovered and identified fragments of the missile. The Kh-101, which struck the high-rise, was manufactured in the fourth quarter of 2025. Investigators are examining the debris to document this terrorist act against Ukrainian civilians.

Modern air defense systems, including IRIS-T and Patriot, are capable of intercepting such missiles.

The missiles were fired from Russian strategic bombers: six Tu-95MS (Olenya airbase) and four Tu-160MS (Engels and Ukrainka airbases).

Russia uses the Vologda and Astrakhan regions as the launch zones. 

In 2025, Moscow planned to increase production of Kh-101 cruise missiles. According to reports, Russia plans to manufacture 633 such missiles this year, with an additional 223 units scheduled for 2026.

The Russian authorities are waging a battle against S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2. The Russian General Prosecutor’s Office has declared the Ukrainian game company GSC Game World, registered in the Czech Republic, as “undesirable,” citing its support for the Ukrainian military, Mediazona reports. 

$17 million for the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The Russian agency stated that in 2022, GSC Game World’s management transferred about $17 million to a fund supporting Ukrainian troops. The funds were used to purchase strike drones, related equipment, and vehicles.

“Aggressive Russophobic content”

Additionally, according to the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office, in 2024, the studio released a game that “promotes Ukrainian narratives and contains aggressive Russophobic content.”

Mediazona suggests this refers to “S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl.”

PlayStation version is on the way 

Earlier, GSC Game World announced the release date for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl on PlayStation 5. The release is scheduled for 20 November, marking the first anniversary of the game, UNIAN reports. 

The PS5 port was announced back in July. The project will include DualSense support and enhancements for PlayStation 5 Pro.

Months of secret consultations culminated in an agreement. Athens and Kyiv have agreed on the joint production of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) at Greek shipyards, Kathimerini reports. 

The agreement became known after 16 November, when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens. Previously, the Greek prime minister had been caught in a ballistic attack in Odesa in March 2024 while on a visit.

Creating a maritime shield against Russian drones

The confidential agreement provides for the establishment of a new production line at Greek shipyards capable of building advanced unmanned platforms for supply to both Ukrainian and Greek armed forces.

Greek companies participating in the program will provide electronic systems, optical equipment, sensors, and, if necessary, explosive materials.

Months of secret negotiations open a new chapter

Athens and Kyiv also discussed expanding cooperation in unmanned underwater vehicles, should the USV program continue.

Ukrainian defense technologies have been described as highly dynamic, with operational tactics updated roughly every seven days to counter Russia’s rapid advances in aerial drones and other unmanned systems.

A Greek military delegation and representatives from the shipyard hosting the assembly line are expected to visit Ukraine soon to advance the deal. It has reportedly followed months of confidential consultations. 

The corruption scandal in Ukraine continues to unfold. The Ukrainian opposition is demanding the resignation of the government, which allegedly allowed the embezzlement of $100 million from Energoatom, the only enterprise servicing the country’s nuclear power plants. According to the investigation, officials clearly failed to properly build protective shelters over energy facilities amid Russian attacks, UkrInform reports. 

Europe assessed the investigation positively, stating that it demonstrated the functioning of anti-corruption institutions. At the same time, those responsible must be held accountable. Ministers are implicated in the scheme, and businessman Tymur Mindich, a close associate of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is named as the organizer.

Corruption scandal escalates into demands for government resignation

On 18 November, the parliamentary faction European Solidarity, led by former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, blocked the rostrum in the Ukrainian Parliament to prevent a vote on the dismissal of Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk and Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko. The faction insists on the dismissal of the entire government instead.

Poroshenko has stated that trust in the authorities has collapsed. He has stated the need to dismiss the current Cabinet of Ministers and form a “government of national unity.”

It would unite representatives of various political forces, both from the ruling party and the opposition, to work together on ensuring the country’s survival and defense during the war, when society is especially sensitive to military and hybrid threats from Russia.

Previously, in 2024, Ukraine appointed Oleksii Chernyshov as Minister of National Unity. However, it has emerged that Chernyshov is also implicated in the “Mindichgate” case as one of the key figures. According to investigators, he allegedly received kickbacks from service suppliers with a 10–15% markup. In total, transfers of $1.2 million and nearly €100,000 were recorded.

51 deputies have already signed a no-confidence motion against the government

According to Poroshenko, 51 lawmakers have already signed a motion of no confidence in the current government. There are about 400 MPs in the Ukrainian Parliament.

“We will not allow a vote on these two ministers today. We state responsibly: we will not vote for an attempt to ‘release steam’ and preserve the corruption vertical,” Poroshenko said.

He urged colleagues to sign for the government’s dismissal.

After this, deputies began chanting: “Government out!”

Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk then announced a recess in the plenary session. According to the deputies, the Ukrainian Parliament's work for the day was over.

€140 billion of frozen Russian assets at stake 

Meanwhile, Ukraine is counting on the possibility of utilizing €140 billion of frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine, held in Europe. Such aid could be a unique opportunity for the state, especially since the US has ceased military aid following Donald Trump's election.

However, legal challenges in using these assets are compounded by concerns over how the money might be utilized amid the backdrop of the corruption scandal.

The scandal in Ukraine erupted after the release of the latest European Commission report on the EU candidate countries, presented last week. It provides a clear assessment that Ukraine has made limited progress in the fight against corruption.

Western countries are not at war, but they no longer live in peace because of the Russian threat, said Ingo Gerhartz, head of NATO's Joint Force Command in Brunssum, at the Berlin Security Conference. The general added that it is necessary to build not only a strong army, but also a resilient society, UkrInform reports. 

NATO countries, in light of the security threats posed by Russian aggression, have agreed to increase defense spending to 5% of their GDP by 2035.

Moscow sees bureaucracy in Europe and draws conclusions

At the same time, the general acknowledged that Russia sees political debates, bureaucracy, and the not-always-fast attempts to accelerate production capacity in Europe, which undermines trust in the entire Alliance.

In addition, Russia hopes that hypertactics will create cracks in NATO’s shield, spreading discord among allies and dividing societies. And it hopes it can force the Alliance into a hasty response that would give Russia a pretext for further escalation.

Gerhartz assured that NATO is prepared to defend itself against large-scale attacks. He also emphasized the need to adopt a mindset of strength that demonstrates readiness to defend everything that matters.

The future war will be decided by tech that becomes obsolete within weeks

The general also noted that the war in Ukraine has demonstrated how rapidly technologies can evolve, and how technological progress can render systems obsolete in a matter of weeks.

Therefore, the West needs more systems with a strong deterrent effect before a war begins, to send a clear signal: whoever attacks will face strikes on strategic targets deep within their territory.

Gerhartz said the West does not have time until 2029, 2035, or 2040 to acquire key capabilities. Action is needed now.

In his view, NATO’s response to the violation of the Alliance’s airspace by Russian drones and aircraft was precise, calm, restrained, and forward-looking. But this will not prevent the Russian government from using another hyper-instrument tomorrow, he admitted. That is why the general says the deterrence strategy must be reconsidered.

He said that the collective defense must be plan B. The West’s goal should be to never reach the point where it actually has to defend itself. Thus, plan A must be a reliable deterrence.

"I don't know if I should continue sharing these memories with you. Maybe it helps you understand what Russia does to people. Or maybe, on the contrary, it hurts you more, and you don't want to read about what I had to endure," with these words, Ukrainian soldier Dmytro Kanuper, also known as Rasti, described his memories of Russian captivity in his latest Instagram post.

He continues, "But I know one thing for certain: by sharing this, I am telling the truth — the truth they work so hard to hide. The truth can hurt, but it must not remain silent."

While in captivity, Dmytro was sentenced to 29 years in a maximum-security prison for a war crime he did not commit for defending Mariupol. On 18 October 2024, he was returned home as part of a prisoner exchange. A year has passed, but memories of Taganrog prison continue to haunt him.

"They slowly and deliberately turned us into savages"

While waiting for the sound, the soldiers dreamed of bread. Some closed their eyes and imagined it, others guessed which type they would get today — dark or light, toasted or raw, fluffy or stiff? Would it be half a loaf or just a slight crust?

"Hunger did strange things to us. Inside, it spun so that it felt like we could fall to our knees for a crumb," Dmytro recalls.

When the balandior opened the feeding box, everyone in the cell, except the orderly, had to instantly assume a posture: half-bent, hands behind their back, eyes down.

They were not allowed to look at the "feeding box". The orderly collected bread for everyone. It would fall to the floor, roll, and sometimes end up underfoot, but a balandior didn't care.

"If he wanted, he stepped on it, spat on it, and handed it back," he says. 

Then, the Ukrainian prisoners almost fought among ourselves over who would get the coveted crust. 

"We began thinking the way they wanted us to"

After breakfast came the "main dish."

"An aluminum bowl, the kind they feed a stray dog from. Inside was warm, murky water from boiled pasta. Sometimes there were two spoons of the pasta itself — that was considered a lucky morning," he describes.

There was also tea, which the prisoners called "dragon's urine."

"Sometimes it was salty, sometimes it tasted like detergent, but we drank it anyway," Dmytro recalls. 

The system turned them into savages: people who argued over crumbs of bread, over who had more murky water in the bowl, who would get the crust, who would finish the tea first.

"This was life, lived by their rules. And the most frightening part was noticing sometimes that we began thinking the way they wanted us to," he says.

Russia's systematic torture program 

Over 90% Ukrainian prisoners who return from captivity say Russian guards beat, torture them with different tools, such as electric shock devices. They are deprived of food, water, and sleep, and forced to sing Russian national anthems. 

Many prisoners say that Russian Taganrog is not just the name of a city, but a synonym for the torture conveyor created by Russia. Here, people are being broken, forced to confess to fabricated crimes, so they can be delivered “ready” to the courtroom.

Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna was also held in Taganrog. She died in captivity in September 2024. Her body, showing clear signs of torture, was returned to Ukraine in February 2025.

Ukraine has charged Alexander Shtuda, the head of Detention Center No. 2 in the Russian city of Taganrog, with organizing the torture. 

Russian forces, taking advantage of the fact that Ukraine’s main troops are concentrated on defending Pokrovsk, are intensifying their offensive in the southeast. Russia is advancing toward the city of Zaporizhzhia. If they come close enough, they could begin hunting civilians with FPV drones, just as they did in Kherson, says Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation of Ukraine, UNIAN reports. 

More than 70% of Zaporizhzhia Oblast is under Russian occupation, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the Regional Military Administration. However, the main city of the region, Zaporizhzhia, remains free.

“Half of Kherson is already covered with anti-drone nets because Russians are hunting living people,” Andriushchenko continues.

'Time is running out': A stark warning 

The path to defending Zaporizhzhia lies through the strategically important towns of Orikhiv and Huliaipole, which are now threatened with encirclement. Pressure on Huliaipole has continued since June, as Russians searched for a weak point in Ukraine’s defenses.

Now that many Ukrainian troops are concentrated on the Pokrovsk front, fighting a 170,000-strong Russian grouping, the Zaporizhzhia front is in danger.

The situation around Huliaipole remains one of the most tense on the southern front, UkrInform reports. The occupiers are attempting to encircle the town from the east and north, says the spokesperson for the South's Defense Forces, Vladyslav Voloshyn.

On 11 November, Ukrainian troops pulled back from positions near five settlements in the region as Russian forces intensified attacks. The withdrawal followed several days of heavy fighting, with Russian units carrying out over 400 artillery strikes daily and firing around 2,000 shells at Ukrainian soldiers.

Fewer than 500 people remain in the Huliaipole community. The community head is urging civilians to evacuate, as the number of drone attacks has sharply increased.

“All roads and communications are unfortunately controlled by enemy drones, including optical fiber lines. Entering or leaving Huliaipole is now a lottery ticket. The drones see everything,” says Serhii Yarmak, head of the Huliaipole community.

A chilling echo of Vuhledar: Russia's 'meat grinder' tactic returns

Voloshyn says Russians are attempting to breach Ukrainian defenses by advancing closer to a logistical route that runs through the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

“Russian groups, moving through tree lines, are attempting to penetrate deeper into our defenses,” the spokesperson notes.

Voloshyn stresses that Ukrainian troops carry out daily search-and-strike operations to detect and eliminate such groups, and also conduct counter-assault actions to prevent Russian advances. Fighting is especially intense near Yablukove.

The advance could end in tragedy. 

“A year ago we saw the same thing near Vuhledar. It ended with the occupation of Kurakhove. We see the same now: a flank strike, a wedge, infiltration, and then an expansion of the front line,” Andriushchenko emphasizes.

Since last week, the Russian military has been actively moving manpower into Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

'A river of steel': 70 trucks a day build a new Russian strike force

“They are transferring it in organized columns, entering from the territory of the Russian Federation. On average, up to 70 trucks per day, mostly with manpower, as well as engineering units and equipment,” Andriushchenko highlights. 

Meanwhile, German military analyst Julian Röpcke, in BILD, says Ukrainian positions have become increasingly vulnerable due to mistakes by allies and Ukraine's military leadership. 

The analyst criticizes the inefficiency of armored vehicle deliveries — more than 2,000 units supplied by the West — due to Russia’s dominance in fiber-optic systems and other drone technologies. Instead, Röpcke advises focusing on drones and missiles to counter the aggressor, Andrii Kovalenko, the Center for Countering Disinformation writes. 

Particular concern is caused by problems with mobilization and resource management.

“If Kyiv and its partners do not change strategy immediately, Russia will gradually win this war,” the analyst warns, calling for decisive reforms.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of the Ukrainian defense company Fire Point amid a corruption investigation, The Associated Press reports. Fire Point is a company that manufactures the long-range Flamingo missile and long-range drones FP-1 and FP-2.

Ukraine has recently uncovered a $100 million corruption scheme in the energy sector. The European Union assessed the investigation positively, but it must be fully completed. The probe is examining possible links between the company and businessman Tymur Mindich, one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s closest associates, who ran a "laundromat" scheme and is currently hiding abroad.

An experienced official joins Fire Point as it navigates between breakthrough and investigation

Fire Point’s Chief Technology Officer, Iryna Terekh, has explained that the decision to create an advisory board was made when the company began transforming into a large international structure. According to her, Pompeo’s appointment is a “great honor” for Fire Point.

Pompeo served as CIA head from 2017 to 2018 and as the head of US foreign policy from 2018 to 2021, during US President Donald Trump’s first term. Pompeo has frequently advocated for more substantial support for Ukraine amid Russia’s full-scale war, which began in early 2022, per Euronews. 

Earlier, it also became known that members of Ukraine’s EU-backed anti-corruption agency in Kyiv and the FBI are coordinating actions in the top 2025 energy investigation.

FBI, EU-backed Ukrainian anti-corruption agency coordinate in major nuclear operator scandal, which involves Zelenskyy’s closest associate

A battle for reputation

To enhance its international reputation, Fire Point is now establishing a new plant in Denmark and collaborating with influential industry representatives. At the same time, it plans to expand the production of cruise missiles and more than double its capacity.

However, public attention remains intense amid the ongoing investigation into corruption.

The company’s advisory board was established on 12 November as part of its efforts to strengthen corporate standards. Three more individuals will join the board of directors. Fire Point CTO Iryna Terekh explained that the decision to create the advisory board was made when the company began turning into a major international structure.

Earlier, in an interview with Bloomberg, Zelenskyy said that Kyiv and Washington launched joint production of interceptor drones. The Ukrainian president did not name the specific company producing this weapon.

He also did not specify which model of interceptors is being manufactured or how long the two countries have been producing them.

Russia is working on modifications to guided bombs. They will allow such bombs to fly up to 400 km, enabling Moscow to strike more Ukrainian towns and cities, including the capital, Kyiv, without using missiles, Vadym Skibitskyi, Deputy Head of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, said in an interview with Reuters.

New wings of Russia’s genocidal machine

Russia is already planning to produce up to 500 improved glide bombs with a flight range of up to 200 kilometers by the end of 2025. To achieve such a range, the Russians are installing the SW800Pro‑Y turbojet engine manufactured by the Chinese company Swiwin.

In October 2025, the first reports appeared that Russia had begun producing new guided aerial bombs with upgraded UMPK modules, capable of hitting targets at distances of up to 200 kilometers.

Currently, two new types of Russian aerial bombs are known: the UMPB-5R glide bomb, equipped with a jet engine, and the universal gliding kit (UMPK), featuring improved aerodynamics.

Exact data on the possible operational range of both bomb types is unknown. Therefore, it is impossible to say whether the Defense Intelligence information refers to both types together or only to one of them.

FAB‑500T bombs fly farther with SW800Pro‑Y

The SW800Pro‑Y turbojet engine manufactured by the Chinese company Swiwin is intended for use in unmanned aerial systems and large aircraft models. Russian forces have also used jet engines from this company in their S8000 “Banderol” cruise missiles.

As for the upgraded UMPK module, the declared flight range of the FAB‑500T has now allegedly “exceeded 100 kilometers” due to improvements to the tail section.

Ukrainian forces have blown up the road from Selydove to Pokrovsk, the city where Kyiv and Moscow troops clash in the fiercest battles of Donetsk Oblast. This route is located to the northwest of Pokrovsk, Ukraine's 7th Rapid Response Corps reports. 

Light vehicles burn on the road to Pokrovsk

“As a result of an airstrike, the road connecting Selydove and Pokrovsk has been destroyed. In this way, the Russians lost the ability to use this route to infiltrate Pokrovsk with light equipment,” the Ukrainian military reveals. 

Earlier, Ukrainian forces had already struck this route. The Russians used it to conduct assaults with light vehicles. On 11 November, the Defense Forces destroyed five motorcycles and five cars in Pokrovsk and on the approaches to the city. For the Russians, the assault ended with “partial success.”

In other areas, Ukrainian troops are creating additional engineering barriers. At the same time, the command of the Russian forces is sending suicide squads to clear these obstacles. 

Russia wants to reach other cities in the region through the towns near Pokrovsk

The Russians are also trying to occupy the Pokrovsk twin city of Myrnohrad. The fall of the settlement would leave Pokrovsk without a shield, opening the way for further Russian advances toward Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, and ultimately for the capture of the entire Donetsk Oblast. Russia has been attempting to seize the region for 11 years.

On 14 November, Ukrainian forces removed the freshly installed Russian flag on the top of the ruined Myrnohrad mine and neutralized the troops planting it there. 

Ukraine has struck four valuable Russian targets. The Ryazan Oil Refinery in Russia, the “Nebo-U” radar station in temporarily occupied Crimea, a military echelon near Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and a troop concentration near Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast came under fire, Ukraine's General Staff reports. 

Molten metal and explosive waves at the Ryazan refinery

The Ryazan Oil Refinery produces A-92/95/98/100 gasoline, diesel, TS-1 aviation fuel, and other petroleum products. It is the country’s fourth-largest oil processing plant. 

“The products of this enterprise are used by the Aerospace Forces of the Russian military,” the General Staff emphasized.

Following the strike, multiple explosions and a significant fire were reported.

Nebo-U can no longer monitor from Crimea

The “Nebo-U” radar station in temporarily occupied Crimea was also hit, significantly limiting Russia's ability to observe and manage military operations in the southern direction.

The Nebo‑U radar system can detect fighter aircraft at a distance of more than 400 km when targets fly at an altitude of 20 km. For lower-flying objects, the range is 65 km. 

Precise strikes on echelons and enemy concentrations in Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv oblasts

A military echelon in the Tokmak area of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and a concentration of Russian personnel near Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast were also struck.

These strikes are part of comprehensive measures by Ukrainian forces to weaken Russia’s capability to conduct missile and bomb attacks on Ukrainian territory.

The city of Novorossiysk in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, where Russia had relocated its Black Sea Fleet from occupied Crimea, came under a Ukrainian drone attack. As a result, Ukrainians destroyed four S-400 “Triumph” launchers and two radars, sources from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) say, per UkrInform. 

The Grave Stone and Cheese Board were destroyed 

The attack occurred on 14 November. Ukraine used drones from the SBU Special Operations Center "Alpha" to strike the weapons. On the same day, Russian forces launched 430 drones and 18 ballistic missiles at Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, killing seven civilians in their homes.

The destroyed launchers were located on the territory of a military unit of the Kuban Red Banner Regiment. Russian troops also lost two important radars — the early-warning radar 96N6 “Cheese Board” and the target acquisition radar 92N6 “Grave Stone”. In total, the military unit had approximately 12 S-400 “Triumph” missile launchers on its territory.

There is a high probability that the systems also sustained damage as a result of the attack.

Who broke holes in Russian skies? 

This operation was conducted by the SBU with support from Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces, including the Defense Intelligence, the Special Operations Forces, and the State Border Guard Service.

“The SBU continues its systematic work... Each destroyed system is a hole in the defense that Ukrainian drones and missiles will exploit,” the SBU source said.

Russian “Kalibr” missiles bring death to Ukrainian cities

Russian Kalibr missile strikes have inflicted significant casualties in Ukraine since 2022. In May 2025, a massive attack killed over 10 people, including three children, and injured more than 60.

Between April and August, dozens of civilians were killed and hundreds were injured in various Kalibr missile attacks. Many strikes targeted residential areas, infrastructure, warehouses, and businesses, causing widespread destruction and civilian suffering.

Ukrainian defenders have disrupted a staged Russian propaganda effort in the town that provides an eastern shield for Pokrovsk. On 14 November, Kyiv troops destroyed a Russian flag that occupying troops had planted atop one of the ruined mines on the southeastern outskirts of Myrnohrad, the Eastern Military Group reported.

Ukrainian forces disrupt Russia's staged victory performance

“For the sake of another ‘flag-planting’ and a fake ‘victorious picture,’ the occupiers once again suffered significant personnel losses,” the Ukrainian military said.

However, they added, “the Russian rag did not hang for long, and the Russian infantry soldiers were eliminated.”

The Eastern Military Group stressed that Ukrainian forces confidently hold their positions in Myrnohrad and continue destroying enemy troops approaching the city.

“Logistics to the city are functioning. Myrnohrad remains under the control of our units,” the command added.

The incident became yet another example of Russia attempting to fabricate media narratives about the “capture” of settlements to sustain the myth of success on the frontline. Ukrainian defenders, however, respond to such provocations swiftly, demonstrating full control of the situation.

1350 civilians remain in Myrnohrad under bombs and FPVs

According to various analytical estimates, between 30,000 and 40,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the battle for Pokrovsk, a number that may exceed the city’s pre-war population of just over 50,000.

Some 1,350 civilians remain in Myrnohrad, as in Pokrovsk, with evacuation impossible due to constant shelling and Russian attacks, ZN.UA reports.

The fall of Myrnohrad would leave Pokrovsk without a shield, opening the way for further Russian advances toward Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk, and ultimately for the capture of the entire Donetsk Oblast. Russia has been attempting to seize the region for 11 years.

A Russian capture of Pokrovsk could also create the illusion of Russian momentum in Ukraine, pressuring Western partners into accepting Moscow’s terms in potential negotiations, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. 

To execute its plan, Russia has deployed the 8th and 51st armies, four marine brigades, and the 9th brigade of the so-called DNR. FPV drone units Rubikon, Judgment Day, and the Irish, among the most experienced in the entire Russian army, are also actively operating in this direction.

Earlier, a Ukrainian officer said that the Kyiv troops in Myrnohrad and further south are practically surrounded.

Another soldier defending Myrnohrad confirmed his statements, saying that "it’s better to stay in position and wait until we are either liberated or captured".

“Even if we were ordered to withdraw, we probably wouldn’t survive,” he said.

A Russian shadow laboratory for new military tactics is rapidly advancing, according to Kyiv military sources. The most elite drone center, Rubicon (also spelled Rubikon), is now focused on eliminating Ukrainian operators and operates in hot spots along the front, the Financial Times reported. 

Ukrainian soldiers say the defense of Pokrovsk was “like a holiday” for Ukrainian forces before Rubikon entered this sector of the front.

Armed, aggressive Russia is experimenting with new methods of warfare. Without support from the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the form of air defence, electronic warfare, and intelligence, Russian offensives become more dangerous.

New survival rule on the front 

“Be humble, be silent, mask your position, and don’t move when it’s not necessary. Best to sit in your trench and watch Instagram," jokes Ukrainian operator Dmytro.

According to experts, Rubikon has roughly 5,000 fighters and large financial resources. Its task is to disrupt Ukrainian logistics, destroy drone command teams, and train other Russian units.

Russian Rubikon has no days off

“They have a lot of people, and that means they can work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They can change teams every five hours, they can sleep. It’s more difficult for us because we don’t have many people to rotate all the time, and we still need to sleep," said another Ukrainian soldier. 

Meanwhile, Rob Lee of the Philadelphia-based Foreign Policy Research Institute notes that Rubikon has become a center of Russian army innovation, developing new tactics and technologies. 

"It’s more than a unit; it is a centre — a centre for all kinds of unmanned systems development," he says. 

Now Kyiv must counter the highly organized Rubikon strategy by developing its own clear, centralized battle plan, he added.

In response, the Ukrainian forces are creating their own “anti‑drone” groups, changing tactics, better camouflaging positions, and restricting movement.

Explore further

Ukrainian FP-2 drone carrying 105kg warhead eliminates Rubikon officers in occupied Avdiivka

Maximum access to technology

Earlier, LIGA.net reported that Russian military intelligence and Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov stand behind the Rubikon center, according to a Ukrainian Defense Intelligence officer with the callsign "Azimut". 

The officer added that Rubikon shows “strong political will and a large role” of Russian special services directly in organizing this structure.

The intelligence officer also noted that elitism indeed exists within Rubikon. For example, recruiters for this unit have the right to take personnel from any units.

“They simply arrive — and have full access to pilots from other combined-arms units," said the officer. 

Therefore, he noted, due to political will, this formation has “maximum opportunities for its development and maximum access to financing and technologies.”

Earlier, the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence reported that its soldiers had discovered the Rubikon base in Avdiivka, Donetsk Oblast. The city fell under Russian control in 2014.

Using precise coordinates of Russia's position, Ukrainian intelligence operators directed its new FP-2 unmanned aerial vehicle, equipped with a 105-kilogram warhead, toward the Russian target amid dense urban terrain. 

As a result of the strike, Ukrainian Intelligence eliminated Russian officers and drone operators from the unit who were inside their headquarters.

The possibility of using €140 billion of frozen Russian assets for a reparations loan to Ukraine is a unique opportunity for the state. Especially since the US has ceased military aid following Donald Trump's election. However, legal challenges in using these assets are compounded by concerns over how the money might be utilized amid the backdrop of a new corruption scandal, La Repubblica reports.

On 10 November, EU-backed anti-corruption agencies uncovered a large scheme, "Midas", involving four Ukrainian ministries and the country's top energy company. The case is especially painful to the ordinary Ukrainians, who continue to endure up to 12-hour blackouts following Russian missile attacks.

According to investigators, the perpetrators demanded kickbacks amounting to 10–15% of Energoatom contract values. Contractors had to pay to avoid blocked payments or the loss of supplier status. Timyr Mindich, one of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's closest associates, oversaw the operation of a so-called “laundromat”, where funds were stolen.

The embezzlement of state funds in the energy sector, exceeding $100 million, has raised significant concerns in Europe.

The "Midas" corruption case under Europe's scrutiny

During the Eurogroup meeting on 12 November, where instruments for financing Ukrainian resistance over the next two years were again discussed, several finance ministers repeatedly referred to this corruption case.

Moreover, the scandal in Ukraine erupted after the release of the latest European Commission report on the EU candidate countries, presented last week. It provides a clear assessment that Ukraine has made limited progress in the fight against corruption.

The report also mentions the temporary suspension in July of the independence of the anti-corruption agencies, which are currently handling the case involving the embezzlement of $100 million in state funds. These institutions, according to the report, report growing pressure from state authorities.

The US has imposed new sanctions on 32 legal entities involved in the supply network for components used to produce Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. Among them are two companies registered in Ukraine, according to the US Department of the Treasury. 

Ukrainian companies under foreign control

The adversary may aim to use this information as “evidence” of corruption, internal collaboration with the enemy, or other theories. While the companies are formally registered in Ukraine, control is effectively in foreign hands.

An Iranian citizen, Bahram Tabibi, “used his Ukrainian shell companies” to “purchase and supply aerospace materials” for the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company, the producer of the Shahed drones.

Russia uses three distinct turboprop Shahed drone variants — all packed with foreign parts

The supplies included position indicators, magnetometers, AC generator components, engines, and other equipment.

The companies named are LLC "GK Imperativ Ukraine" and LLC "Ecofera"

According to the Opendatabot portal, LLC "GK Imperativ Ukraine" was registered in 2018 in Kharkiv and is engaged in trade. The company’s owner is an Iranian citizen, Bahram Tabibi Jabali.

As for LLC "Ecofera," no publicly available information has been found. 

Some European countries believe that Russian leader Vladimir Putin will eventually win in Ukraine, according to Bundestag member Jürgen Hardt from the ruling Christian Democratic Union, UkrInform reports. This conviction persists despite Ukraine successfully defending against the attacks of the world’s largest country for 11 years. 

A major fire broke out today, 13 November, at one of the petrochemical plants in Nizhnekamsk, Tatarstan. According to preliminary reports, the blaze started in one of the production units of the “Nizhnekamskneftekhim” enterprise, which is among the key facilities in Russia’s petrochemical industry, Astra reports.

Black smoke over the industrial zone as a signal of problems in Russia’s economy

Photos shared on local social media show thick black smoke rising above the industrial area. No casualties have been reported to date, and the cause of the fire has not been officially determined.

Production facilities fueling the war are at risk

The plant specializes in the construction, repair, and modernization of petrochemical and energy industry facilities, performing the full cycle of work, from manufacturing metal structures to installing technological equipment.

Experts note that such incidents reduce the production capacity of Russia’s petrochemical sector — one of the industries directly financing the war against Ukraine. Even if officially labeled as “fires,” the real economic damage to Russia could be significant.

A war that destroys not only Ukraine but Russia itself

Nizhnekamsk is located more than 1,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, but the war Russia is waging increasingly “comes back home,” damaging its economy, technological potential, and sense of security.

Ukraine has received €5.9 billion from the EU under ERA Loans and the Ukraine Facility, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced. A key feature is that part of these funds is financed from profits on frozen Russian assets.

“Today, there is an important decision in support of our country from our partners. Importantly, the ERA Loans mechanism is financed from profits from frozen Russian assets, which makes Russia pay for its aggression,” Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine aims to access €140 billion of frozen Russian assets in Europe and use them to support the war effort

According to Zelenskyy, only pressure can work to achieve peace, so efforts must be intensified to use Russian assets.

The majority of these funds are held in the Euroclear financial depository in Belgium. A decision on whether to transfer the funds to Ukraine is expected in December 2025, Politico reports. 

Previously, Zelenskyy stated that it would be a significant loss for Russia if Ukraine were to succeed in accessing €140–160 billion of frozen Russian assets.

“We are counting on a swift political decision regarding the reparations loan and full use of these funds for Ukraine’s defense. I thank President Ursula von der Leyen for her leadership and support of Ukraine,” he summarized.

ERA Loans and Ukraine Facility — financial instruments for security and reforms

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Svyrydenko has explained that €4.1 billion under ERA Loans is the final tranche of an €18 billion program, financed from profits on frozen Russian assets.

“This is an example of how Russia begins to pay for its crimes. At the same time, it is a signal of European solidarity and determination to support our ability to endure,” the official noted.

An additional €1.8 billion was received under the Ukraine Facility, reflecting confidence in Ukraine’s implementation of reforms and its European integration.

Russian drones and aircraft have breached NATO airspace. This is a strategic attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin to intimidate European allies supporting Ukraine, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Bloomberg.

Special operation of fear against Europe, the biggest Ukraine's ally in Russia's war

According to the Ukrainian president, the drone attacks were "psychological intimidation, without a doubt." They scared some European leaders from sending air defense systems to Ukraine.

“I think he scared them, that was his goal, and he achieved it,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia wants to drive the Ukrainians from their homes by winter terror 

Meanwhile, Russia has moved from a strategy of conquering Ukraine to a strategy of its destruction. This year, Putin has lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in exchange for less than 1% of Ukraine’s territory. This means Moscow is ready to pay any price for the occupation. 

Russia is conducting thousands of air strikes on the power grid, central heating, and gas infrastructure as winter approaches.

The goal is to render parts of the country’s east uninhabitable, crash the industry, and provoke mass emigration and panic.

Members of Ukraine’s EU-backed anti-corruption agency and the FBI are coordinating actions in the 2025 top energy investigation, which involves the alleged laundering of $100 million, ZN.UA reports, citing its own sources. 

Recently, representatives from both agencies met in connection with the case of Energoatom, Ukraine's sole nuclear operator.

According to investigators, the perpetrators demanded kickbacks amounting to 10–15% of Energoatom contract values. Contractors had to pay to avoid blocked payments or the loss of supplier status. Timyr Mindich, one of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's closest associates, oversaw the operation of a so-called “laundromat”, where funds obtained through illegal means were laundered.

In the embezzlement case, five individuals have been detained, and seven alleged members of the criminal organization have already been formally charged. Among those searched were Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko, who has since resigned, and Mindich, who is hiding abroad.

FBI returns to Ukrainian investigations 

A new FBI officer has recently arrived in Kyiv, and one of his first meetings was specifically focused on the Mindich case. The FBI representative works within the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine under an interagency memorandum originally signed during the bureau’s founding.

The case highlights Ukraine’s commitment, with strong European Union support, to eradicating corruption at the highest levels of government. However, the investigation must yield results and lead to the arrest of jail officials involved in the scheme. The case is especially painful to ordinary Ukrainians, who continue to endure up to 12-hour blackouts following Russian missile attacks.

For comparison, the stolen $100 million could have purchased 27 Patriot missiles or 40,000 Sting interceptor drones. 

After a brief technical pause that coincided with the US President Donald Trump administration, the document was re-signed following NABU Director Semen Kryvonos’s visit to the US. Since then, constant operational cooperation between NABU and the FBI has been restored for cases involving high-level corruption.

Ukraine has become a drone superpower, producing about 4 million unmanned aerial vehicles of various types each year. For comparison, some estimates put US military drone production at roughly 100,000 units per year, Bloomberg reports. 

Ukraine’s drone era began with Turkish Bayraktar TB2s. Ukraine purchased its first Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles in 2019. These drones have significantly strengthened the capabilities of Kyiv's forces since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war. Today, Ukraine produces most of its drones itself with the support of its allies. 

Ukraine's drone variety exceeds NATO arsenals

Now, Ukrainian companies, facing acute funding shortages, are eager to share their drone expertise and create safer production lines aimed at European armies that want to stockpile weapons.

“It’s not just the quantity of drones, it’s the variety. Probably more than all NATO countries combined right now," said RAND analyst Michael Bohnert.

That variety includes long-range strike drones, as well as inexpensive first-person-view (FPV) attack drones.

Increasingly, Ukrainian air defenses are also using interceptor drones. Ukraine and the UK plan to begin joint production of such drones in the coming months to counter swarms of Russian drones.

FlyWell wants $50 million to manufacture drones on European soil

• Some Ukrainian drone makers have already entered the EU market. For example, Skyeton opened a facility in Slovakia and has announced partnerships with Denmark and the UK. The company produces reconnaissance UAVs capable of flying for up to 24 hours.
• Another Ukrainian firm, TSIR, is now operating in Finland and is preparing to launch a production line for tactical quadcopters that can cover up to 15 kilometers and are used for reconnaissance and strikes along the front line, in a joint venture with Finnish partner Summa Defence Plc.
• FlyWell brings together several Ukrainian companies that produce aerial, ground, and maritime drones intended for reconnaissance and strikes on Russian targets from the front line to ranges of up to 2,000 kilometers. FlyWell plans to raise about $50 million to fund European manufacturing and R&D projects.

Currently, Summa Defence is self-funding production and has already created prototypes of three models that could enter mass production immediately after testing in Ukraine, CEO Yussi Holopainen said. Some of the output is intended for NATO countries, but Ukraine remains the priority.

Offices in Berlin and Copenhagen

Denmark allocated nearly $77 million this year to help Ukrainian arms manufacturers establish operations on its territory. The first project is expected to begin producing rocket fuel this year for Fire Point, a Ukrainian company developing the Flamingo cruise missile with a range of 3,000 kilometers.

Ukraine plans to open offices in Berlin and Copenhagen this year to market weapons, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on 3 November. This is about joint production and the export of weapons that Ukraine can afford to sell in order to raise funds for domestic production of scarce items that Kyiv currently lacks funding for.

The southern front, lacking forests and urban fortifications, remains one of the most challenging areas for Ukraine to defend. Therefore, Kyiv forces don't have options to hide somewhere to repel the rapidly advancing Russian attacks to the center of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, says military observer Denys Popovych, according to NV. 

The region's center, the city of Zaporizhzhia, would give Russia a stronghold for an offensive toward Kryvyi Rih and Dnipro. Its capture would also be accompanied by war crimes and crisis, including population displacement and the suppression of cultural identity, as it has been in other occupied territories. 

He explains that Russia is attempting to recreate the same scenario in the Huliaipole area of Zaporizhzhia, as it was in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast. 

Ukrainian paratroopers execute daring parachute-free airdrop under fire near Pokrovsk, breaking through Russian lines

Dangerous “pockets” are forming north of the city

Russian invaders are trying to encircle this city, which is important from a logistical point of view, to surround it from the north.

“If we look at the map, we can see that such pockets are forming there, and this threatens that the city could be encircled from the north and the scenario of the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad agglomeration could be repeated,” Popovych says.

At the same time, he added that if the Defense Forces fail to stop Russia in this direction, the occupiers may first threaten Huliaipole, and then move closer to Zaporizhzhia, he adds. 

According to the expert, the difficulties for Ukrainian defenders lie, in particular, in the fact that in the south of Ukraine, there are neither forests nor urban areas convenient for building defensive lines.

Kyiv forces withdraw to save personnel's lives

On 11 November, Vladyslav Voloshyn, Spokesperson for the Defense Forces of the South, stated that the situation in Zaporizhzhia has rapidly deteriorated, per RBC. The Ukrainian Armed Forces withdrew from positions near five settlements. 

“In Zaporizhzhia, particularly in the Oleksandrivka and Huliaipole directions, intense fighting has been going on for several days. The Russians are using all types of available weapons to push the Armed Forces of Ukraine out of their positions,” said Voloshyn.

According to him, in the past few days, up to a hundred combat clashes have been recorded on the Zaporizhzhia front.

As a result, Ukrainian forces were forced to withdraw from positions near the settlements of Novouspenivske, Nove, Okhotnyche, Uspenivka, and Novomykolaivka in order to preserve the lives of personnel. There, the Russian assault fired more than 400 artillery shells daily, using about 2,000 munitions.

“Unfortunately, the numerical advantage of the Russians is making itself felt ... which could endanger Huliaipole,” the DeepState emphasized.

According to the experts, Huliaipole had long remained impregnable to the Russians, who attempted to attack it from various directions, including the Marfopillia area. Now, there is a risk of opening a new route that could complicate the defense of this strategic point.

Ukraine is fighting enemies both abroad and within the system. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, during meetings in Canada with his counterparts from France, Germany, and Italy, assured that all those involved in corruption schemes in Ukraine will be held accountable.

An investigation into the alleged embezzlement of $100 million from Energoatom, Ukraine's only company that operates all of the nuclear power plants, is underway. It has been revealed EU-backed anti-corruption agencies have uncovered a large-scale bribery and $100 million scheme involving four ministries. The case is especially painful to ordinary Ukrainians, who continue to endure up to 12-hour blackouts following Russian missile attacks.

The minister is visiting Canada to take part in the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting at the invitation of Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand.

The talks are expected to be dominated by Russia's escalating war in Ukraine, stalled US-led peace initiatives, and growing trade frictions within the alliance.

Ukraine is working on building the trust of its international allies 

“Those involved in corruption schemes will be brought to justice,” he emphasized.

In a high-profile corruption case involving Energoatom, Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have detained five individuals. In total, seven members of the criminal organization have been formally charged.

The special operation to document the group’s activities lasted over 15 months, beginning in the summer of 2024. During this period, investigators collected a substantial amount of data, including thousands of hours of audio recordings.

Reports indicate that the head of the scheme is businessman Timur Mindich, who is also a co-owner of the entertainment studio Kvartal 95 and an associate of the president.

Mindich reportedly fled abroad a day before the raids, in which millions of dollars in cash were seized. This has raised suspicions that he may have been forewarned about the operation.

“I reaffirmed that those responsible for corruption will be held accountable. This is the firm position of President Zelenskyy and our government,” Sybiha claimed.

On social media, Sybiha called the meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, and the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, "productive."

Sybiha: winter defenses needed, Russian assets must be seized

He also noted that discussions covered the 20th EU sanctions package and efforts to use frozen Russian assets.

“We also focused on strengthening our air defense and energy resilience ahead of winter, including through the PURL and SAFE mechanisms,” the foreign minister added.

Sybiha thanked allies preparing new military and energy aid packages and invited his colleagues to visit Ukraine.

Rubio arrives in Niagara: talks on Ukraine and Gaza continue

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also arrived in the Niagara region of Canada to participate in the G7 foreign ministers meeting. He is expected to address questions from G7 partners regarding President Donald Trump’s initiatives to end the war in Ukraine, as well as the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement.

The meeting comes shortly after efforts to organize a summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump were suspended last month, Reuters reports. Officials cited that Moscow’s refusal to cease hostilities in Ukraine overshadowed the planned negotiations.

An investigation into the alleged embezzlement of $100 million from Energoatom, Ukraine's only company that operates all of the nuclear power plants, is underway. On 12 November, a Ukrainian court ordered 60 days of pre-trial detention for Energoatom’s Executive Director for Security, Dmytro Basov, after EU-backed anti-corruption agencies uncovered a large-scale bribery and kickback scheme, UkrInform reports. 

The court set bail at $951,000 for Basov. If posted, he must:

• appear upon summons by investigators,
• surrender his international passports,
• remain at his registered residence,
• refrain from contact with witnesses in the case.

What was Basov's role in the scheme?

The investigation has implicated at least four ministers from Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers. Over 70 searches have been conducted across several regions.

According to NABU (National Anti-Corruption Bureau) and SAP (Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office), members of the criminal network demanded and received kickbacks of 10–15% from Energoatom contractors. During raids, officials seized over $4 million in cash, RBC reports. 

Basov, codenamed “Tenor” in investigative materials, allegedly coordinated the shadow network, overseeing procurement and financial operations.

Elite property and Mercedes GLE 300D

Basov previously led a department in the Prosecutor General’s Office investigating organized crime and later worked at the State Property Fund before becoming Executive Director for Physical Protection and Security at Energoatom.

He was dismissed from the Prosecutor General’s Office in 2019 amid corruption scandals but was later reinstated through court proceedings, receiving $59,500 in compensation for “unlawful dismissal.”

After joining Energoatom, Basov’s family’s wealth grew rapidly. In 2024, Nataliia Basova, his wife, purchased a 70 m² apartment in the elite White Lines residential complex in Kyiv.

Journalistic investigations reveal that over the past few years, she has spent approximately $360,000 on luxury assets, including another apartment (127 m²) in the French Quarter complex, valued at no less than $140,000, and several vehicles, such as a Mercedes GLE 300D, a Range Rover, and a Mercedes GLC 220D.

Her declared income does not justify these expenditures. Shortly before the purchases, the couple officially divorced.

EU Response

The European Commission has declined to comment on the ongoing investigation but reaffirmed that fighting corruption remains one of the key prerequisites for Ukraine’s EU accession, Suspilne writes.

“Combating corruption requires sustained efforts to ensure strong institutional capacity and respect for the rule of law. The independence of anti-corruption bodies must be safeguarded — they are a cornerstone of Ukraine’s rule of law as a future EU member state,” the Commission’s press service stated.

The EU has urged Ukraine to consolidate its progress in major corruption cases, particularly in asset seizure and confiscation, and to prioritize those with the highest public impact.

“We will continue to closely monitor the rule of law situation and stand ready to provide support,” the statement added.

Ukraine remains heavily dependent on EU support as it continues to resist Russia’s war. Ukrainian citizens endure immense hardships but remain steadfast in their commitment to defending their sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Moscow seeks to exploit such scandals for propaganda purposes, attempting to spread narratives suggesting that Western nations should reduce their aid to Kyiv.

The Russian army is punishing military personnel who failed to meet recruitment targets for the occupation army. They have begun to send them directly to the front, according to Ukraine's Defense Intelligence. 

The Russian regime is ready to destroy anyone, even its own citizens, to continue the war

Russia is fighting in Ukraine thanks to secret international logistics. North Korea arms Russia and receives classified technologies in return. According to analysis, about 70% of the ammunition used by Russia in the war against Ukraine is manufactured in North Korea, Japanese outlet Kyodo News reports. 

Since the start of the all-out war in 2022, Pyongyang has supplied Moscow with about 6.5 million munitions in exchange for Russian military technologies to produce its own weapons.

The documents received by the journalists also indicate the transfer of air defense technologies, space developments, and $20 billion in aid, including nuclear technologies, to North Korea.

China supplies electronic components for tanks and missiles through sanctions circumvention

The documents show that approximately 90% of electronic components for Russia's defense, including semiconductors, originate from China.

In return, Moscow supplies China with energy resources, rare metals, and dual-use goods for both civilian and military purposes, including components for aircraft and submarine production.

Iran assists Russia with drones and explosives, and receives air defense systems

Additionally, Iran has provided Russia with about 2,200 drones and technologies for producing explosives. In exchange, Tehran received air defense systems and radars from Moscow, deepening military cooperation in the region.

Ukrainian defense experts emphasize that the logistics network from North Korea, China, and Iran supports Russia’s war, highlighting the need to isolate Moscow through Western sanctions.

Russia does not plan to stop killing Ukrainians. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated that the war against Ukraine will only end “when Russia achieves the goals it has set," UNIAN reports, citing Russian sources. 

“I would like this conflict to end as soon as possible. It can only end when Russia achieves the objectives it initially set,” Peskov said.

Moscow shifts responsibility for failed negotiations onto the West

The Kremlin's spokesperson claimed that Moscow supposedly wants the war to end through political and diplomatic means. He also shifted the blame for the stalled negotiations once again onto other countries.

He claimed that the Russian side remains open to such a path, but the situation is currently on hold, not because of Russia.

“Our interlocutors do not wish to continue the conversation; they are being actively encouraged by Europeans, who believe that Ukraine can win the war and secure its interests by military means,” Peskov added.

Since 2022, Russia has demanded Ukraine's de facto capitulation, calling for its disarmament and the reduction of its military to leave it vulnerable to future invasions.

In August 2025, Putin confirmed that Russia’s conditions for ending the war, announced back in the summer of 2024, remain unchanged.

Last year, he insisted on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia. Moscow has illegally incorporated these Ukrainian regions into its Constitution. Additionally, Russia demands that Ukraine renounce NATO membership, enshrine a non-nuclear status, and lift sanctions.

On the night of 8 November, Ukrainian soldiers shot down a Russian reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) "Skat 350M" or "Stingray" worth $400,000. Footage of the strike was released on the brigade's channel on 10 November, reported the 3rd Separate Heavy Mechanized "Iron" Brigade. 

"Another celestial episode, at the 'Iron Birds'. The interceptor batteries of the anti-aircraft missile-artillery division destroyed a Russian UAV," the Ukrainian warriors say.

What is the SKAT350M? 

The Skat 350M is designed for aerial surveillance and target search in optical and infrared bands. It is the result of a comprehensive modernization of the Supercam 350 UAV, Militarnyi reported. 

At the "Kalashnikov" enterprise, the platform was given improved aerodynamic properties, and the ground control system was updated with new wing and control surface designs.

In 2024, the occupiers claimed that they used the reconnaissance capabilities of the SKAT 350M to guide S-400 missiles against Ukrainian rocket systems, as well as to guide Lancet loitering munitions.

The Skat 350M is an expensive and comprehensive reconnaissance complex, so its destruction weakens Russia's capabilities to guide high-precision strikes and correct strikes.

Human error when approaching the wreckage of Russian drones can lead to death. Increasingly more Russian "Gerbera" drones, which were previously used for reconnaissance, have begun to be found with warheads inside, says Ukrainian electronic warfare expert Serhii Beskrestnov, also known as "Flash". 

At the same time, Russian forces use an extremely dangerous scheme in which the detonator is activated during the drone's flight, as a result of which it triggers on impact. 

Therefore, transporting a fragment in a car/trunk/bag is deadly dangerous: a bump on the road or shaking can cause an explosion.

From a reconnaissance drone to a lethal trap

He also showed the warhead with a detonator that he found inside one of the "Gerberas".

"In one photo the warhead OFBCh-2 with a UZ-2 detonator. In the second photo the warhead's connection inside the UAV," he notes.

Why "cutting the wires" won't save: detonator set to combat-ready

Flash explains that a signal from the flight controller goes to a relay, which closes and supplies voltage from three batteries to the detonator connector. This is likely to occur according to an altitude criterion.

"This signal does not detonate the warhead, as many think. This signal sets the detonator to combat-ready. Such a scheme allows the crew that launches the "Gerbera" not to take risks," the expert explains.

That is, activation of the detonator occurs during flight. On impact with the ground, the detonator triggers, and the warhead explodes. 

At the same time, he warns: the detonator may not trigger during a smooth landing of the drone; however, it remains in the combat-ready position. That is why such a drone must under no circumstances be thrown or transported in a trunk.

"The main mistake that can cost lives: it is not an electric detonator. Do not think that you cut the wires or disconnected the connector, and everything will be fine. The warhead's detonator is already in the combat position," emphasizes Flash.

This detonator also has self-destruction contacts, "so what nastiness the Russians may come up with in the future, no one knows," the specialist added.

Therefore, if a person finds such a drone, follow the official warnings of rescuers and do not approach the wreckage, do not transport it, and do not try to disassemble it.

Russia is applying the “psychological warfare” once used by Andrei Gromyko, the Soviet diplomat during the Cold War, to the West. Moscow now uses the same tactics to try to occupy Ukraine. Gromyko, who served as Soviet Foreign Minister for over 40 years, employed this strategy whenever the USSR sought to extract maximum concessions from the West, says former Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army Valerii Zaluzhnyi, as per The New York Post. 

How did it work?

Gromyko dragged out negotiations, drained his interlocutors’ patience, and dominated the conversation until they gave in. Every one of his pauses was tactical. Every speech was a test of endurance. The result was confusion and fatigue, leaving others eager for quick, simple solutions just to achieve at least something, explains Zaluzhnyi.  

This method perfectly serves the Kremlin’s current objectives. Drawn-out talks on “ending the war” create an illusion that Russia genuinely seeks peace, while in reality, they give Moscow time to kill as many Ukrainians as possible during the talks and rearm for the next stage of aggression.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has mastered this Soviet art.
His toolbox includes:

• endless monologues;
• selective quotations;
• and endless digressions designed to blur facts and exhaust listeners until they lose focus.

Moreover, the Kremlin sends envoys with no mandate to compromise because real power in Russia remains concentrated in one man’s hands, for endless talks. 

The four stages of the "Gromyko's scheme"

Every meeting with Russian officials about ending the war, such as those in Istanbul, follows a familiar four-step pattern:

The only language the Kremlin understands is consistency backed by strength.

Diplomats must be trained like soldiers

That is why Ukraine must train its negotiators with the same rigor it trains its soldiers, Zaluzhnyi claims. 

Diplomacy succeeds only when reinforced by force.

Europe's security at stake, not only Ukraine's survival 

Despite these lessons, some in the West still urge Ukraine to negotiate with those who came to kill it, the former chief commander continues. 

He says that Ukraine has fought for 11 years and will not let Soviet methods destroy its state. For Ukraine, peace talks have become another battlefield, one where every mistake is irreversible.

What the West forgets is this:

• At stake is not just Ukraine’s survival, but Europe’s security.
• Any “peace” that rewards Russian aggression is an invitation to more wars

Peace on Russian terms is not peace — it is surrender. Real peace cannot be achieved by signing papers while Russian missiles continue murdering civilians. 

"Ukraine does not reject peace. We reject capitulation disguised as peace," claims Zaluzhnyi. 

A just settlement must restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity, ensure accountability for war crimes, and guarantee that no aggressor will ever again threaten Europe from Moscow.

“Anything less would betray not only Ukrainians but the principles that keep the free world safe and free. Our strength lies not only in our soldiers but in our clarity of purpose: peace through victory, not illusion," he adds. 

Russia is turning the consequences of its own crime into a military advantage. The invaders have destroyed the Kakhovka Reservoir and are now using the exposed bottom as a staging ground for maneuvers and attacks, UNIAN reports. 

Russian soldiers are attempting to bypass Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia by moving across its exposed bed, according to Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Defense Forces of the South.

Occupiers searching for flanking routes in their crime area

Voloshyn explains that the reservoir has effectively turned into a large meadow overgrown with lush vegetation.

“The Russians are trying to use this dense vegetation and the bottom of the former Kakhovka Reservoir to outflank our positions in the settlements of Plavni and Prymorske, to attack us from the west,” Voloshyn says.

He adds that personnel from Ukrainian Defense Intelligence units have carried out clearance operations near the islands of Velyki Kuchuhury, located within the former reservoir area. The Russian forces also attempted to infiltrate past Ukrainian positions in this sector.

“This zone is being monitored under special control,” the spokesperson emphasized.

Russia blew the dam, gained weeks, lost soldiers, but did not achieve a perfect result

Russia’s destruction of the Kherson dam temporarily improved its defensive posture in Kherson Oblast and delayed Ukrainian operations in the south, but it did not produce any lasting military superiority. That has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Some Russian troops also died during the operation. 

The destruction exposed sediments containing more than 90,000 tonnes of hazardous heavy metals, a toxic cocktail that had quietly accumulated on the reservoir floor since 1956.

However, Ukrainian forces continue to hold nearly 20% of Kherson Oblast, including the central city of Kherson. 

Ukraine may replicate Brazil’s model for localizing production of the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen E/F fighters. The first domestically assembled aircraft could appear as early as 2034–2035, according to Defense Express. 

The Gripen E is a 4++-generation multirole fighter capable of speeds up to Mach 2, equipped with advanced radar, AIM-120 AMRAAM and AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, and precision strike capability. 

Gradual expansion of Ukrainian defense industry participation in Gripen's assembly

According to Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal, assembly is planned under the Brazil model to begin in 2033, with Ukrainian defense industry involvement gradually expanding, starting from kit assembly and moving toward manufacturing individual components directly in Ukraine.

Preparatory work, including the establishment of new production lines and training of specialists, is scheduled to start by 2030. Initially, assembly will rely on kits, with full-cycle production to be rolled out later.

The first 22–24 Gripen E/F fighters will be produced directly by Saab in Sweden, while the remaining approximately 125 aircraft will be assembled in Ukraine.

If a formal agreement with Saab is signed in 2026, deliveries of the first jets from Sweden are expected to begin around 2035. Preliminary calculations suggest that full production of 150 fighters could be completed between 2045 and 2050.

Gripen E/F to become Ukraine's main combat aircraft for decades

The first Gripen aircraft to arrive in Ukraine will be used Gripen C/D jets, which Sweden plans to deliver in 2026. These aircraft will provide an interim rearmament stage for the Air Force before production of the new E/F version begins.

Experts emphasize that the Gripen E/F will become Ukraine’s primary combat aircraft for decades.

“Gripen is the aircraft that Ukrainian pilots will be flying well into 2070 and beyond,” the analysts predict.

Saab is also reportedly exploring options for a parallel production line in Canada due to growing international demand.

After the strike on the building, Mayor Filatov stated that one and a half sections will need to be demolished, requiring the relocation of 72 apartments in the drone-damaged building. Two building sections remain off-limits due to the risk of structural collapse. 

“My mother was pinned to her bed by a window frame during the explosion" 

Evhen was waiting for rescuers to find his brother under the debris, when Suspilne journalists asked him for a comment on the strike. Emergency employees already recovered a body of his sister-in-law from the rubble. 

“Their neighbors called me. The rescuers couldn’t give any information — we’re just searching. I will hope until the very end, until I see the body. There is always hope," he said.

In a neighboring section, Olena lives on the sixth floor above her parents. Her mother was pinned to a bed by a window frame during the explosion.

“My mother is fine, but their apartment is uninhabitable — no heating, broken windows. I don’t know how they will live there. My apartment is okay, but it’s scary, of course," she revealed. 

Serhii, a soldier from another part of the city, came to the destruction site to help the family of his comrade Volodymyr, who lived on the fifth floor.

“We evacuated him, his wife, and child. They only took their documents. Their apartment is partially damaged, and we can’t access it yet. We’re helping them recover belongings and change clothes," he said. 

Inna shared that her 20-year-old daughter and her daughter’s boyfriend were injured and trapped under debris on the third floor. Both are currently in intensive care.

“My daughter has leg injuries and shock, and the boy has a broken arm. I was at work when a friend called to tell me about the strike. Nothing is left of the apartment. I have no words…”

1,200 Dnipro residents face winter without heat

The police reported that 121 people filed claims regarding property damage from the Dnipro attack, with 111 apartments confirmed damaged. At least 1,200 residents may face winter without heating, underscoring the humanitarian consequences of Russia’s attack.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian services are continuing doing all they can to eliminate the consequences of the Russian strike.

On 8 November, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attacks must trigger a unified global sanctions response.

He emphasized that the world must act on frozen Russian assets and increase support for Ukraine to prevent the Kremlin from destroying the country’s civilian energy system before winter.

Experts warn that this winter could be one of the toughest in Ukraine’s history. The world’s response will determine whether the aggressor can be contained or whether the global community allows the destruction of sovereign nations by force.