Ukraine doubts Russia’s desire for peace amid reports of US-drafted plan

Ukrainian defenders person been attempting to equine a defence of the surrounded eastbound cities of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, a period into Russia’s latest effort to prehend them.

On Thursday, arsenic warring connected the beforehand lines raged, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Russia has nary involvement successful ending the warfare amid reports Washington and Moscow have drafted a 28-point bid plan. The connection is said to heap unit connected Ukraine to springiness up land, thing Kyiv has passim the warfare said was a reddish line.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Russian aerial strikes termination 26 successful devastating onslaught connected Ukraine’s Ternopil
• list 2 of 4Explosive weapons caused grounds kid deaths past year: Save the Children
• list 3 of 4EU says immoderate bid program indispensable consult Ukraine, Europe, doubts Russian intent
• list 4 of 4Trump’s caller 28-point plan: What does it privation Ukraine to concede to Putin?

“Russia has nary existent tendency for peace; otherwise, they would not person started this war,” helium said successful a recorded connection posted to X. “The United States has the powerfulness to guarantee that Russia’s willingness to extremity the warfare yet becomes serious.”

(Al Jazeera)

Russia dedicated 150,000 troops to capturing the enclave containing Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, Ukraine said, which is present surrounded connected 3 sides, with Ukrainian proviso lines unfastened lone to the west.

Zelenskyy told US senators successful a bipartisan virtual gathering connected November 12 that Russia had suffered its top casualty complaint of the full warfare successful Pokrovsk, estimating it astatine 25,000 – though helium did not specify implicit what period.

Ukraine’s subject defence efforts were highlighted by the communicative of a worker from the 155th Mechanized Battalion, who reportedly spent 100 days successful the ammunition of a destroyed building, separated from his unit, until helium was rescued.

Ukraine’s General Staff released a video of the warring successful Pokrovsk, purporting to amusement reinforcements arriving successful the city, and suggesting lines of connection remained operative.

“These are shots of our instrumentality arriving, disembarking and advancing groups. In these shots, further battle groups are advancing into the eastbound portion of the city,” the video voiceover said. It said the arrivals were reinforcing the Ukrainian stronghold successful the bluish portion of Pokrovsk.

Later, the video purported to amusement troops “clearing positions connected the occidental outskirts of Pokrovsk and successful the country of ​​the entranceway to the city. In the administrative gathering successful the metropolis centre, soldiers of the regiment are holding positions”.

Police officers evacuate a nonmigratory from an flat gathering deed successful Kyiv, Ukraine, connected November 14, 2025 [Serhii Nuzhnenko/Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty via Reuters]

Ukrainian commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote connected the Telegram messaging platform: “There is an ongoing changeless conflict with tiny force battle infantry groups, and, little frequently, the demolition of airy force equipment.”

The main enactment belonged to drone operators connected some sides, who are locked successful a fierce contention for power of the skies.

The caput of Ukraine’s National Guard, which is warring successful Pokrovsk, said Kyiv needs to measurement up drone accumulation and acquisition to halt Russian troops portion they are inactive retired successful the open.

“We request to halt the force much arsenic they attack connected foot, truthful that they bash not infiltrate,” Okeksandr Pivnenko told Reuters.

He said Ukraine had achieved drone parity successful immoderate parts of the front, but not all.

Surround oregon infiltrate?

The Russian bid appeared undecided astir whether to infiltrate oregon situation the cities, and was pursuing a dual objective, slowing its advance, said the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based deliberation tank.

“The Russian subject bid does not look to beryllium focusing forces and means connected completing the encirclement of the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area, which would usually beryllium the fastest and slightest costly mode to prehend the full area, and alternatively continues to prosecute immoderate level of head-on attacks,” said the ISW.

(Al Jazeera)

Part of Russia’s occupation appeared to beryllium the “active defence” of Dobropillia, a municipality to the northwest of Pokrovsk, which Russia had attempted to seizure successful August arsenic portion of a sweeping encirclement plan. That onslaught invited a counteroffensive which liberated 189 quadrate kilometres (73sq miles) of occupied onshore and near the Russian encirclement successful ruins.

Russia’s 2nd and 51st Combined Arms Armies, attacking Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad from the southbound and north, respectively, look to beryllium attempting a much constricted envelopment of the enclave and a simultaneous head-on infiltration utilizing tiny groups of soldiers.

The infiltration of Pokrovsk from the southbound has appeared to beryllium advancing during the past week, portion Ukrainian defenders inactive held the bluish neighbourhoods.

Russia was attacking different parts of the 1,200km (745-mile) beforehand arsenic well, investigating for weaknesses and experimenting with the infiltration tactics that person proven palmy successful Pokrovsk.

(Al Jazeera)

During the week of November 13-19, it seized respective villages successful Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia.

One of Russia’s advantages is its power of the air. Its craft are dropping 200-250 glide bombs a time connected Ukrainian beforehand lines. Ukraine’s lawman subject quality main Vadym Skibitskyi told Reuters that Russia planned to nutrient 120,000 glide bombs adjacent year, which could rise the regular mean to 330.

“It is imaginable to sprout them down, but the quantity of these aerial bombs produced successful the Russian Federation … is enormous,” Skibitskyi said. “This is simply a threat. A menace that volition necessitate america to respond appropriately.”

The long-distance war

Russia has utilized long-range drones and missiles to onslaught Ukraine’s cities.

During the past week, it launched conscionable nether 1,600 drones and 78 missiles. Ukraine intercepted 86 percent of the drones and three-quarters of the missiles.

Many Russian drones and missiles person struck residential areas repeatedly.

The worst specified onslaught came connected November 19. At slightest 25 people, including children, were killed successful the occidental Ukrainian metropolis of Ternopil, erstwhile Russia pulverised the apical floors of a nine-storey flat building. At slightest 80 others were reported wounded.

(Al Jazeera)

Ukraine, which continues to respond with attacks connected Russian vigor infrastructure, said it struck an lipid terminal successful Novorossiysk connected Friday. Russia suspended export operations astatine the terminal, which relationship for 2 percent of the planetary lipid trade.

Ukraine besides struck the Saratov lipid refinery and a substance depot adjacent the Engels airbase.

A time later, the Ryazan refinery besides suspended operations owed to a strike.

But it was unclear whether this run was having the intended interaction connected Russia’s quality to supply its equipped forces with diesel.

Russia was reported to person mislaid 20 percent of refining capableness betwixt August and October, but that was rapidly reduced to 3 percent by activating spare capacity, Reuters much precocious reported, citing sources and data.

Diverging agendas

On Wednesday, Zelenskyy met with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has successful the past successfully interceded with Russia to broker prisoner-of-war exchanges.

While there, Zelenskyy reportedly swerved a gathering with US envoy Steve Witkoff, who was seemingly bearing the 28-point bid program from the White House.

The program entailed territorial concessions to Russia and a simplification successful the size of Ukraine’s equipped forces, 2 anonymous sources told Reuters. Both are cardinal Moscow demands. A Ukrainian root said Kyiv had nary relation successful drafting the proposal.

Earlier, Axios had reported that Washington was moving connected a 28-point bid plan.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists determination were “no innovations” successful Russia’s stance “that tin beryllium reported to you”.

Separately, Ukraine and its European allies person drafted a ceasefire program that demands the implicit and unconditional cessation of hostilities. Europe has not demanded that Ukraine cede territory and advocates strengthening Kyiv’s equipped forces.

Zelenskyy intelligibly leans towards the European plan. His European circuit started successful Athens, wherever helium and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced their volition to co-produce aboveground drones.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shingle hands during a quality league astatine Moncloa Palace, successful Madrid, Spain, connected November 18, 2025 [Violeta Santos Moura/Reuters]

On Monday, Zelenskyy was successful Paris to motion a 10-year woody with President Emmanuel Macron for weapons purchases and co-production, which includes 100 Rafale F4 craft by 2035, 8 SAMP/T aerial defence systems with six launchers each, aerial defence radar, air-to-air missiles, and guided aerial bombs.

On Tuesday, Spain became the archetypal state to denote a nonstop allocation wrong the European Union’s Security Action For Europe (SAFE) programme for weapons co-production with Ukraine, successful the magnitude of 215 cardinal euros ($250m). Spain besides promised 40 Iris-T missiles and planned to supply long-range radars.

On Thursday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested helium whitethorn supply Ukraine with the long-range Taurus cruise missiles it has agelong sought.

“In caller months, we person been moving intensively with the Ukrainian authorities connected projects that we technically notation to arsenic ‘long-range fire’. The Ukrainian service volition beryllium equipped with specified limb systems,” Merz said.