Zelenskyy meets troops on front line as Russia, Ukraine battle in key areas

Fighting has intensified, arsenic Kyiv claims attacks connected lipid facilities successful Zaporizhia and Crimea, portion Russia says its forces person captured 2 much villages.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited troops near the beforehand line successful the confederate Zaporizhia region, arsenic Ukraine’s subject said it carried retired an onslaught connected a Russian-occupied lipid installation successful the area.

Zelenskyy posted connected X that helium visited the “command station of the 65th Separate Mechanised Brigade” connected Thursday adjacent the front-line municipality of Orikhiv, publishing photographs of his gathering with troops.

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The Ukrainian subject said earlier this week that the concern astatine the Zaporizhia beforehand enactment had deteriorated, with Russian troops accelerating their beforehand there.

“I listened to a study connected the operational concern successful this sector, force activity, and losses among the occupiers,” Zelenskyy said.

“We are doing everything to fortify our warriors.”

Command station of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Velykyi Luh.” I person the grant of being present contiguous to convey the warriors for their work and to contiguous them with awards. The brigade, present portion of the 17th Corps, is defending the Orikhiv direction. Thank you for protecting… pic.twitter.com/xLXNk4a32B

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 13, 2025

Coinciding with Zelenskyy’s sojourn to boost unit morale, the Ukrainian subject said its forces deed an lipid terminal successful Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed successful 2014, arsenic good arsenic an lipid depot successful the occupied Zaporizhia region.

The Ukrainian wide unit said connected Telegram that Russian lipid facilities and different subject targets were deed by domestically produced weapons, including Flamingo ground-launched cruise missiles and drones.

Meanwhile, astatine slightest 3 radical were killed successful a Russian drone onslaught adjacent the colony of Bohuslavka successful Ukraine’s eastbound portion of Kharkiv, authorities said connected Thursday.

According to Governor Oleh Syniehubov, 2 radical were instantly killed successful the strike, and 1 idiosyncratic succumbed to injuries successful a hospital. Another idiosyncratic was injured, helium said.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said connected Thursday its units “continued their beforehand heavy into the enemy’s defence” and took power of the colony of Danylivka successful the Dnipropetrovsk region. It said troops besides took power of the colony of Synelnykove successful Kharkiv.

Earlier this week, Russian forces captured 3 villages successful the confederate region, partially occupied by Moscow, with the warring mostly frozen.

Ukraine volition instrumentality to bid talks: Moscow

Kyiv volition “sooner oregon later” person to instrumentality to negotiations with Moscow and from a “much worse position”, Russian statesmanlike spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said connected Thursday, a time aft Ukraine announced suspending bid talks to extremity the warfare that has continued since 2022.

Peskov, responding to comments from the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the concern for Kyiv is “deteriorating time by day”, asserting that Ukraine would yet beryllium compelled to re-engage successful dialog with Russia.

Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, successful remarks published connected Wednesday, told British regular The Times that Kyiv has formally halted the bid talks, citing a deficiency of meaningful advancement during the rounds held earlier this twelvemonth successful Istanbul.

“Since the bid talks ended this twelvemonth without important progress, they person been suspended,” Kyslytsya said, adding that Ukraine has asked allies to assistance unafraid a nonstop gathering betwixt Zelenskyy and Russian person Vladimir Putin. Putin has shown nary involvement successful specified a summit, rebuffing entreaties from United States President Donald Trump.

Rescuers enactment astatine the tract of a Russian drone onslaught successful Kharkiv, Ukraine, November 12, 2025 [Sofiia Gatilova/Reuters]

Germany urges Kyiv to instrumentality enactment against corruption

Meanwhile, Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Zelenskyy connected Thursday that Germany expects Ukraine to bash acold much to combat corruption aft reports of a scandal rocked Kyiv.

The Ukrainian authorities indispensable “energetically beforehand anticorruption measures and further reforms, peculiarly successful the country of the regularisation of law”, Merz told Zelenskyy successful a telephone call, a connection from the chancellery successful Berlin said.

Zelenskyy connected Thursday ordered sanctions connected an subordinate and erstwhile concern spouse astatine the bosom of the corruption ungraded that has led to outrage successful a federation exhausted by astir 4 years of war.

On Wednesday, Ukraine’s justness and vigor ministers submitted their resignations amid the wide-reaching inquiry, Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said, soon aft Zelenskyy called for their dismissals.

Anticorruption officers person said the strategy saw $100m successful funds from the vigor assemblage – battered by Moscow’s attacks – siphoned off.

In the telephone call, Zelenskyy told Merz astir the investigations into the ungraded and “promised implicit transparency, semipermanent enactment for autarkic anticorruption authorities, arsenic good arsenic further swift measures to reconstruct the spot of the Ukrainian population, European partners and planetary donors”.