Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump ‘in secret talks’ with Putin’s envoy over Gaza-style peace deal

Two Ukrainians who ‘collaborated with Russia’ were behind railway explosion, Poland says

Devastation in the Kharkiv region following Russia’s deadly strike that killed three

As Russia strikes Europe again, when will this hybrid war with Nato turn physical?

Inside Putin’s plan to crush Ukraine this winter – and why it might work

From blowing up tankers in Europe to drone sightings in Belgium: How Putin is pushing Nato to a cliff edge

Key Points

• Trump working with Russia on new Ukraine peace plan – report
• Poland says two responsible for railway blast worked for Russian intelligence
• Ukraine's Zelensky plans Turkey visit to try to revive peace talks
• Russia temporarily halts flights at Krasnodar airport
• Kremlin responds to Poland's claim Russia is involved train attack

As Russia strikes Europe again, when will this hybrid war with Nato turn physical?

Russia stands accused of sabotage on Poland’s railways. The Kremlin attacked a gas-loaded tanker on the Romania border, forcing the evacuation of several villages in the country. Moscow has repeatedly flown drones into European airspace, and jets over Estonia.

These, plus waves of sabotage, cyber attacks, and social media propaganda, are acts of war. But they are all part of a hybrid war. And this malevolent blend allows Vladimir Putin to punch well above his weight.

Russia is the prime suspect in Monday’s bombing of the Warsaw to Lublin railway line, a main artery from Poland to Ukraine.

Poland’s security ministry said that “everything points to Russian sabotage”, after the blast on the railway and another attack in which the rails on the same route were cut.

As Russia strikes Europe again, when will this hybrid war with Nato turn physical?

From blowing up tankers in Europe to drone sightings in Belgium: How Putin is pushing Nato to a cliff edge

European allies have been shaken by provocations on Nato’s eastern frontier in recent months, accusing Russia of making brazen incursions onto foreign soil to test the bloc’s responses and undermine collective resolve.

Russia has long been accused of interfering in European affairs. But the issue was thrust back into focus in September, when nearly two dozen drones crossed over into Poland amid a large-scale Russian drone attack on Ukraine. Days later, jets violated Estonia’s airspace as Russia concluded major drills in Belarus.

Subsequent activity near the border has forced Europeans to close airports and borders, causing major disruption and exposing vulnerability. Businesses have responded with a wave of military and civilian innovations to safeguard the continent against the threats of modern warfare.

Blowing up tankers and drone incursions: How Putin is pushing Nato to a cliff edge

Did Russia just attack Nato? Romanian villages evacuated after tanker strike on Danube River

Two Romanian villages were evacuated on Monday after a drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker, setting it ablaze in southern Ukraine.

The MT Orinda was hit while offloading liquefied petroleum gas in a Ukrainian border city near Romania, sparking fires while more than a dozen workers were onboard.

The strike came the day after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky signed a deal to import energy resources through the area of the strike.

Did Russia just attack Nato? Villages on Danube evacuated after tanker strike

Ukraine to seek $44bn from Russia for wartime emissions

Ukraine plans to seek nearly $44bn (£33bn) from Russia for the damage linked to an increase in climate-warming emissions from the ongoing war, a government minister said.

The move marks the first time a country is claiming damages for such an increase in emissions, including from the fossil fuels, cement and steel used in fighting the war, and from the destruction of trees through resultant fires.

“A lot of damage was caused to water, to land, to forests," said Pavlo Kartashov, the country's deputy minister for economy, environment, and agriculture.

“We have huge amounts of additional CO2 emissions and greenhouse gases," Kartashov told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil.

Healey to announce new munitions factories as UK looks to boost warfighting readiness

Britain will build a network of new munitions factories to boost its warfighting readiness, in a move aimed at restoring domestic production of military explosives for the first time in nearly two decades.

Defence secretary John Healey is set to announce plans for new potential sites today and confirm that construction on the first factory is expected to start next year.

These factories will produce munitions, propellants, explosives and pyrotechnics for the British Army and support for Ukraine.

At least 13 potential sites have been identified for factories and the first construction is expected to begin next year.

Earlier this year in June, the government committed £1.5bn of additional investment for munitions and related components.

Two top US Army officials in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian leadership

At least two senior US army officials are reportedly in Kyiv today on an unannounced trip to push forward peace talks with Ukrainian officials, two people familiar with the trip said.

Army secretary Dan Driscoll and Chief of Staff General Randy George will be meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, the war-hit nation’s military leaders and lawmakers, reported Politico.

The two senior military officials will focus on engaging Ukrainian leadership on the stalled peace process with Russia.

Driscoll is planning to meet with Russian officials at a later date, the Wall Street Journal reported separately.

Poland scrambles jets after Russian strikes on Ukraine, Polish armed forces say

Polish and allied aircraft were deployed in the early hours today to ensure the safety of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes targeting western Ukraine near the border with Poland, the armed forces of the Nato-member country said.

“Quick-reaction fighter pairs and an early warning aircraft have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar surveillance systems have reached the highest state of readiness," the operational command said in a post on X.

At 4am GMT nearly all of Ukraine was under air raid alerts following Ukrainian Air Force warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks.

Watch: Aftermath of Russia's deadly strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv region

Poland says two responsible for railway blast worked for Russian intelligence

Poland has identified two people responsible for an explosion on a railway route to Ukraine, the country’s prime minister Donald Tusk said.

Mr Tusk said the two suspects are Ukrainians who collaborated with Russian intelligence and then fled to Belarus.

The blast on the Warsaw-Lublin line, which connects the Polish capital to the Ukrainian border, followed a wave of arson, sabotage and cyberattacks in Poland and other European countries since the start of the war in Ukraine.

“The most important information is that... we have identified the people responsible for the acts of sabotage," Tusk told lawmakers, adding that they were Ukrainians who had collaborated with Russian intelligence for "a long time".

“In both cases we are sure that the attempt to blow up the rails and the railway infrastructure violation were intentional and their aim was to cause a railway traffic catastrophe," he said.

Warsaw has said Poland has become one of Moscow's biggest targets due to its role as a hub for aid to Kyiv.

Two Ukrainians who ‘collaborated with Russia’ were behind railway blast, Poland says

Russia temporarily halts flights at Krasnodar airport

Russia's civil aviation authority Rosaviatsiya said it was temporarily halting flights at the Krasnodar airport in southern Russia in the early hours today.

Unofficial Russian and Ukrainian Telegram news channels reported a series of explosions throughout the Krasnodar region, home to the Novorossiisk oil terminal and the Ilsky refinery.

The temporary shutdown of services was enforced to ensure flight safety, Rosaviatsiya said.

Ukraine's Zelensky plans Turkey visit to try to revive peace talks

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he planned to go to Turkey on Wednesday in an attempt to revive talks with Russia on how to end the war in Ukraine.

"We are preparing to reinvigorate negotiations, and we have developed solutions that we will propose to our partners. Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine's top priority," Zelensky, who was visiting Spain on Tuesday, said about the meetings in Turkey.

No face-to-face talks have taken place between Kyiv and Moscow since they met in Istanbul in July.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Turkish source said that U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff would also visit Turkey on Wednesday and join the planned talks there with Zelenskiy. But a separate Turkish foreign ministry source said Erdogan would meet only Zelenskiy in Ankara and not Witkoff.

Trump working with Russia on new Ukraine peace plan – report

The Trump administration has been secretly working and consulting Russia on a new plan to end the war in Ukraine, Axios reported, citing US and Russian officials.

It is a 28-point roadmap inspired by US president Donald Trump's plan for the Gaza ceasefire, the news outlet reported. Similar to the Gaza plan, the proposal would consist of "peace in Ukraine, security guarantees, security in Europe, and future US relations with Russia and Ukraine," Axios reported, citing sources.

The US special envoy, Steve Witkoff, is leading the formation of the plan and "has discussed it extensively with Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev," Axios reported, citing a US official.

Citing a Ukrainian official, Axios said Witkoff discussed the plan with Rustem Umerov, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky's security advisor, earlier this week in Miami.

A US official also told Axios that the White House had started to brief European officials on the proposal.

The White House has not issued a comment on the report so far.

As Russia strikes Europe again, when will this hybrid war with Nato turn physical?

Russia stands accused of sabotage on Poland’s railways. The Kremlin attacked a gas-loaded tanker on the Romania border, forcing the evacuation of several villages in the country. Moscow has repeatedly flown drones into European airspace, and jets over Estonia.

These, plus waves of sabotage, cyber attacks, and social media propaganda, are acts of war. But they are all part of a hybrid war. And this malevolent blend allows Vladimir Putin to punch well above his weight.

Russia is the prime suspect in Monday’s bombing of the Warsaw to Lublin railway line, a main artery from Poland to Ukraine.

Read the full analysis here from world affairs editor Sam Kiley here:

As Russia strikes Europe again, when will this hybrid war with Nato turn physical?

Spain rolls out $946m Ukraine aid package during Zelensky visit

Spain pledged 817 million euros ($946 million) in military and other aid for Ukraine on Tuesday during President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit as he aims to bolster Kyiv's air defences against Russia's invasion.

The bulk of the aid, in which defence equipment will amount to 300 million euros, is part of a 10-year bilateral security and defence agreement signed in May 2024 that envisages an annual 1 billion euros.

As part of the package, Spain will purchase U.S. military equipment worth 100 million euros under NATO's Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez told a joint news conference.

It also includes 200 million euros in credit for companies investing in the reconstruction of Ukraine, with a particular focus on energy, transport and water management.

"First, for the Ukrainian army to protect the territorial integrity of Ukraine from the invader, secondly to protect the civilian population, and finally to give an impulse to reconstruction," Sanchez said about the package.

He also reiterated Spain's support for using frozen Russian assets in Europe for reconstruction.

US approves potential sale of Patriot air defense system sustainment to Ukraine

The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of Patriot air defense system sustainment and related equipment to Ukraine for an estimated cost of $105 million, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The principal contractors for the sale will be RTX Corp and Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon said in a statement.

Watch: Zelensky is greeted by Spain's Prime Minister

Watch Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky meet Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

One of Russia's largest oil refineries suspended

One of Russia’s largest oil refineries suspended crude processing after a Ukrainian drone attack.

Three industry sources told Reuters on November 15 Rosneft’s Ryazan oil refinery operations were suspended.

"The plant is expected to remain idle until the end of the month. No [oil product[ loadings are planned before December 1," one of the sources said.

Ryazan Governor Pavel Malkov said on his Telegram channel on Saturday morning that "debris from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) caused a fire at one of the industry facilities".

He did not specify the name of the facility.

Moscow flights delayed or cancelled

As a precaution, all flights in and out of Moscow airports have been temporarily stopped.

Earlier when the city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a Ukrainian drone en route for Moscow was shot down, flights were stopped.

Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports, the city's first and second largest by traffic, were temporarily stopped, Russia's aviation watchdog and Sheremetyevo said.

Ukrainian drone en route to Moscow shot down, Russia says

A Ukrainian drone en route to Moscow has been shot down, Russia claims.

The city’s mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram Russian air defences shot the drone.

Emergency services were working on the scene, he added on Telegram.

Putin says enhancing authority the priority for nations part of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin met with delegations from 10 nations including China, Iran and India.

Taking part at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation heads of state council, the Russian president told them enhancing authority was important.

"We all share a common goal: to enhance the authority and influence of the SCO as one of the largest regional organisations in Eurasia and, moreover, the entire world,” Putin said according to the Kremlin.

Ukrainian man killed in drone strike

A midday drone strike in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson has killed a 61-year-old man, the head of the local administration says.

The man, who was a utility worker, was in his vehicle in Novovorontsovka and driving along the Dnieper River when a Russian drone killed him.

A 50-year-old colleague reportedly suffered an “explosive injury” and a concussion.

Zelenskiy set to visit Turkey to discuss reviving peace talks with Russia

Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to travel to Turkey on Wednesday.

The president will speak with US special envoy Steve Witkoff for talks about reviving a peace deal with Russia.

“We are preparing to reinvigorate negotiations, and we have developed solutions that we will propose to our partners,” Zelenskiy said on social media.

Zelenskiy expects a 'productive' visit in Spain

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine will soon have more advanced weapons thanks to promises from Spain.

"Advanced radars, drone technologies, essential equipment – all of this means better protection of lives," Zelenskiy said in posts on social media platform X while meeting the defence executives.

Ukraine is interested in a defense partnership with Spain. And today, during a meeting with the leaders of Spain’s defense companies and Spain’s Minister of Defense Margarita Robles, we discussed areas of cooperation.

Spanish manufacturers presented their developments:… pic.twitter.com/mfzMe2YSub

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 18, 2025

"Ukraine needs to bolster air defence – additional systems and missiles for them," he posted after meeting lawmakers.

He said he expected a "productive visit" that would "result in agreements that will give us greater strength".

Spanish secretary of state for foreign affairs, Diego Martinez Belio, told a conference Spain would announce a "substantial" aid package during the visit but did not provide further details.

Spain promises 'substantial' aid package for Ukraine

Spain has promised to deliver a “substantial” aid package to Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Madrid on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian president met with Spanish defence sector executives in an attempt to boost Kyiv’s air defences against Russia’s invasion.

Zelenskiy is due to meet Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez later on Tuesday.

Prisoner swap between Russia and US could be conducted

Another prisoner swap could be conducted between Russia and the US.

Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told US outlet Axios there was discussions underway.

"I met some US officials and members of the Trump team on some issues that are humanitarian in nature, such as possible exchanges of prisoners that the US side has been working on," Axios quoted Dmitriev as saying.

Axios also received confirmation from the US there was discussions.

Kremlin responds to Poland's claim Russia is involved train attack

The Kremlin has provided a response to Poland claiming Russian intelligence was involved in an explosion along a railway line over the weekend.

“Russophobia is flourishing there,” the Kremlin stated.

In addition, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said it was noteworthy Ukrainians were implicated.

"Russia is accused of all manifestations of the hybrid and direct war that is taking place," Peskov tells Rossiya TV channel.

"In Poland, let's say, everyone is trying to run ahead of the European locomotive in this regard. And Russophobia, of course, is flourishing there."

Poland's threat alert raised

Further in Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk told parliament the alarm level has been raised on rail lines.

"The head of the Internal Security Agency and the interior minister have requested that I introduce the third threat level, Charlie, due to terrorist threats. This level will apply to certain railway lines, while the rest of the country will remain under the second alert level,” he said.

Tusk added Warsaw was investigating how to best protect infrastructure like railways.

Drones and better tactics needed to beat Russia says head of Ukraine's National Guard

The head of Ukraine’s National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, says drones and better tactics are needed to beat Russia.

"We need to stop the enemy more as they approach on foot, so that they do not infiltrate, and do not let them through," Pivnenko said according to Sky News.

"If we carry out these tasks with greater density on the frontline and the enemy infiltrates less deeply, it will be better for us."

As Russia strikes Europe again, when will this hybrid war with Nato turn physical?

Russia stands accused of sabotage on Poland's railways. The Kremlin attacked a gas-loaded tanker on the Romania border, forcing the evacuation of several villages in the country. Moscow has repeatedly flown drones into European airspace and jets over Estonia.

These, plus waves of other sabotage, cyber, and social media propaganda attacks, are acts of war. But they are all part of a hybrid war.

And this malevolent blend allows Vladimir Putin to punch well above his weight.

Read the full analysis here.

Polish Prime Minister claims two people responsible for railway sabotage are Ukrainian

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has claimed the two people responsible for the sabotage of its railway are Ukrainians helping Russia.

The pair who collaborated with Russian intelligence have fled to Belarus, Tusk added.

The prime minister told lawmakers the suspects had been operating with Russian intelligence for a long time and one was convicted by a court in Ukraine’s Lviv of sabotage in May.

The second suspect is from the Russian-occupied Donbas region.

“We are dealing with an unprecedented event. This is perhaps the most serious situation – in the context of Poland's security – since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine,” the prime minister said.

“The acts of sabotage occurred separately. The first involved installing a steel clamp on the track, which was likely intended to derail the train.”

Spain to announce 'substantial' Ukraine aid package

Spain promised to roll out an unspecified "substantial" aid package for Ukraine as President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Madrid on Tuesday.

Zelensky, who was due to meet Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, visited the headquarters of radar and anti-drone specialist Indra, which is part-owned by the Spanish state, along with other defence firms and Spanish defence minister Margarita Robles.

Zelensky will have lunch with King Felipe before meeting Sanchez and holding a news conference in late afternoon.

He is also expected to raise with Sanchez the issue of potential financing for Ukraine's energy sector and frozen Russian assets.

Was the attack on Odesa a Russian response to Kyiv’s new gas deal?

Lying on a Black Sea estuary, Izmail is one of a string of ports that are vital for Ukrainian imports and exports, particularly as Russia targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Zelensky is trying to secure imports of gas and other energy which would help see his country through the approaching winter, amid growing fears that it could be one of the most difficult for Ukraine.

The strike came just one day after the Ukrainian president had visited Greece to agree a deal for US liquefied natural gas to flow to Odesa, via pipelines from the northern Greek port of Alexandroupolis starting in January.

"As of today, we have prepared an agreement on gas for Ukraine," Mr Zelensky said according to The Kyiv Independent. "This will be another route for gas supply — to maximize the security of import routes for Ukraine during winter."

Romanian villages evacuated after tanker strike on Danube River

Two Romanian villages were evacuated on Monday after a drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker, setting it ablaze in southern Ukraine.

The MT Orinda was hit while offloading liquefied petroleum gas in a Ukrainian border city near Romania, sparking fires while more than a dozen workers were onboard. All were evacuated, and nobody was injured.

The strike still risks inflaming tensions as the war in Ukraine overspills into NATO territory. Read the full report:

Did Russia just attack Nato? Villages on Danube evacuated after tanker strike

Spain to announce aid package for Ukraine

Spain will announce a ‘substantial’ aid package for Ukraine today, the country’s state secretary for foreign affairs said on Tuesday, during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to Madrid.

Zelensky wrote on X that he had spoken with parliamentarians to discuss cooperation with Spanish defence companies, the necessity of aid, and support for “the joint path” of Ukraine and Moldova toward EU membership.

Ukraine 'strikes thermal power stations' in occupied Donetsk

Ukraine attacked two thermal power stations in the Russian-occupied Donetsk, the commander of its drone forces said on Tuesday.

Major Robert Brovdi wrote that the Starobeshivska and Zuivska power plants had been hit by his forces.

He posted a video appearing to show onboard footage from a drone attacking one of the facilities.

Russia discusses prisoner swaps with US in effort to show goodwill

Russia and the United States have discussed the possibility of conducting another prisoner exchange, Russian President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told Axios in an interview published on Tuesday.

"I met some US officials and members of the Trump team on some issues that are humanitarian in nature, such as possible exchanges of prisoners that the US side has been working on," Dmitriev said.

Dmitriev discussed the idea of the latest swap with US envoy Steve Witkoff and other administration officials, the Axios report added, citing a source.

In August 2024, the US and Russia carried out their biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, with 24 prisoners gaining their freedom, including US journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan.

'Everything points to Russia', Poland says after train-track explosion

Everything points to Russian intelligence services commissioning sabotage on Polish railways over the weekend, a spokesperson for the special services minister said on Tuesday.

An explosion that damaged a Polish railway track on a route to Ukraine was an "unprecedented act of sabotage", Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday as he vowed to catch those responsible for an incident he said could have ended in tragedy.