Russia’s top diplomat Sergei Lavrov has said he is ready to meet US secretary of state Marco Rubio following reports of a rift with president Vladimir Putin.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication,” the Russian foreign minister told Russia's Ria state agency on Sunday, weeks after efforts to organise a summit between the Russian and US leaders were put on ice.
Lavrov said he is ready to discuss mending bilateral ties as well as the war in Ukraine, repeating that peace cannot be achieved without “taking Russian interests into account”, a phrase Moscow has used to signal it is standing firm in its maximalist demands for Ukraine.
His remarks come after the Kremlin was moved to dismiss mounting speculation that the seasoned Soviet-era diplomat has fallen out of favour with Putin in rumours that emerged after the bilateral summit efforts were put on hold. Among the events fuelling the intrigue was Lavrov’s conspicuous absence from a significant Kremlin meeting he would typically attend this week.
Meanwhile, Russia launched hundreds of drones and missiles targeting energy infrastructure in Ukraine between Friday and Saturday, killing at least seven people.
State-owned energy company Tsentrenergo said the attacks were one of the largest on its facilities since the start of the war in February 2022, and that it had been forced to halt operations at its plants in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
Key Points
- Lavrov 'ready' to meet Rubio after stalled talks
- Russia launches 450 drones and 45 missiles on Ukraine's energy infrastructure
- At least seven killed in Ukraine after Russian drone barrage
- Moscow says proposals for Russian nuclear test being prepared
- Russia continues house-by-house fighting in Pokrovsk
Czech leader calls on Europe to invest in Ukraine's defence
04:03 , Arpan RaiEurope will need to invest in Ukraine’s defence to halt Russia’s war and ensure the continent’s security against increasing threats from Moscow, Czech Republic foreign minister Jan Lipavsky said.
“We know that if we want to stop Russia, we have to pay for it,” Lipavsky told AFP from the sidelines of the European Union-CELAC summit in Santa Maria, Colombia yesterday.
The center-right government in Prague has been a strong ally for Kyiv since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in 2022.
Kremlin says Russia will abide by nuclear ban
03:54 , Arpan RaiRussia will abide by its obligations under a global nuclear ban, the Kremlin spokesperson said Dmitry Peskov said.
The remarks from Moscow come after days of uncertainty over remarks by US president Donald Trump that appeared to suggest Washington might restart atomic tests after more than three decades.
Trump's comments came after Russia announced it had tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile.
But Moscow did not announce any tests of its nuclear weapons, which last occurred in 1990.
“Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is committed to its obligation to end nuclear tests, and that we have no intention" of conducting them, Peskov told reporters.
Earlier this week, Putin ordered officials to study the possibility of resuming nuclear testing, though Russia said it would not do so unless the US did so first.
Slovakia won't use frozen Russian assets, says PM
03:33 , Arpan RaiSlovakia will not be party to use of frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, the country’s prime minister Robert Fico said.
His remarks come as the European Commission proposed a plan to allow the EU nations to use up to €185 billion, comprising majority of Russia’s sovereign assets currently frozen in Europe, in order to support Ukraine, without formally confiscating them.
“Slovakia won’t take part in any legal or financial schemes to seize frozen assets if those funds would be spent on military costs in Ukraine,” Fico said, stating that use of these assets will only fuel the war.
“Do we want to end the war or are we stoking it? We are going to give €140 billion to Ukraine to keep the war going. So what does that mean? That the war will go on for at least another two years,” Fico said.
Ukrainian services working non-stop to restore power to thousands of homes
03:26 , Arpan RaiUkrainian repair services have deployed workers non-stop to fix the damage to power grids caused by massive Russian airstrikes, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“Repair crews are working almost around the clock in most regions,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
“Restoration efforts are ongoing, and although the situation is difficult, thousands of people are involved in stabilising the system and repairing the damage."
Around 100,000 homes in the Kharkiv region have plunged into darkness after Russian airstrikes through the weekend.
The massive attacks on Ukraine's electricity infrastructure have heightened scrutiny over the the energy ministry's apparent failure to protect the country's most critical energy facilities near nuclear power sites, according to several current and former officials who spoke to AP.
Zelensky says Ukraine looking to order 27 Patriot air defence systems
03:12 , Arpan RaiUkraine was looking to order 27 Patriot air defence systems from US companies, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
In the meantime, he added, the war-hit nation was looking to borrow essential anti-missile defence systems from its European allies.
Additional help was always needed until Russia continued to wage war, the Ukrainian president said.
"It's never enough. It's enough when the war ends. And enough when Putin understands that he has to stop," he said.
Inside Ukraine’s start-up weapons industry rising from the ashes
03:00 , Tara CobhamNaive, self-sabotaging and riddled with Moscow’s agents, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and an arms industry that produced a third of the Soviet Union’s supply, trusted the West and the Kremlin to protect it, and was left fighting for its life.
Now, 30 years on, the start-up nation redefining how war is fought has been forced into a bodge-and-make-do world of arms production, fusing old technology with IT know-how to break the bonds its allies tied to make Kyiv fight one-handed.
The latest innovation is a cruise missile with a range of 3,000km, a maximum speed of 900kmph and a payload of over a tonne, which has been used in strikes deep into Russian territory.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Kyiv:
Inside Ukraine’s start-up weapons industry rising from the ashes
Zelensky says he is not afraid of Trump
02:50 , Arpan RaiVolodymyr Zelensky has said he has good relations with US president Donald Trump and that unlike other western leaders, he was not afraid of him.
“Everyone in the world” was afraid of Trump, Zelensky told The Guardian in an interview at the presidential palace in Kyiv. “That’s the truth”.
But denied the position for Kyiv. “No... we are not enemies with America. We are friends. So why should we be afraid,” he said.
UK sends military experts and equipment to Belgium after drone sightings near airports
02:00 , Tara CobhamBritain is sending anti-drone equipment and personnel to Belgium after a spate of sightings near airports and military bases, the head of the UK military said Sunday.
In the past week both Belgium's main international airport at Brussels and Liege, one of Europe's biggest cargo airports, were forced to close temporarily because of drone incursions. That came after a series of unidentified drone flights near a military base where US nuclear weapons are stored.
Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, the head of Britain's armed forces, said the UK had agreed to "deploy our people, our equipment to Belgium to help them," after a request from Belgian authorities.
"We don't know – and the Belgians don't yet know – the source of those drones, but we will help them by providing our kit and capability, which has already started to deploy to help Belgium," Knighton told the BBC.
Defense Secretary John Healey said the UK was sending a team of Royal Air Force specialists to Nato ally Belgium "to counter rogue drone activity."
"As hybrid threats grow, our strength lies in our alliances and our collective resolve to defend, deter and protect our critical infrastructure and airspace," he said.
In recent months, drone incidents across Europe have forced airports to suspend flights at a time. Russia has been blamed in some cases, but Belgium has not said who has been operating the drones. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken said that he believed that some incidents were part of "a spying operation" that could not have been done by amateurs.
Belgium is home to the headquarters of Nato and the European Union, as well as Europe's biggest financial clearinghouse holding tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets. Many EU countries want to use those assets as collateral to provide loans to Ukraine, but Belgium has so far resisted.
Watch: Putin unveils Russia's new nuclear powered missile cruiser Khabarovskowered Missile Cruiser Khabarovsk
01:00 , Tara CobhamKremlin says Russia will abide by nuclear ban
00:00 , Tara CobhamRussia will abide by its obligations under a global nuclear ban, the Kremlin spokesman said Sunday, following days of uncertainty over remarks by US President Donald Trump that appeared to suggest Washington might restart atomic tests after more than three decades.
Trump's comments came after Russia announced it had tested a new atomic-powered and nuclear-capable underwater drone and a new nuclear-powered cruise missile. But Moscow did not announce any tests of its nuclear weapons, which last occurred in 1990.
"Putin has repeatedly said that Russia is committed to its obligation to end nuclear tests, and that we have no intention" of conducting them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered officials to study the possibility of resuming nuclear testing, though Russia said it would not do so unless the US did so first.
Full story: Ukrainian strikes disrupt power and heating to 2 major cities in Russia
Sunday 9 November 2025 23:00 , Tara CobhamNighttime Ukrainian strikes disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the Ukrainian border, local Russian officials reported Sunday.
A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over 1 million people, sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.
Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram claimed the strike targeted a local thermal power plant.
Read more here:
Ukrainian strikes disrupt power and heating to 2 major cities in Russia
Watch: Moment 11-year-old girl bravely confronts Putin after uncle injured in war
Sunday 9 November 2025 22:00 , Tara CobhamTrump's hesitancy in meeting Putin comes as relief to European leaders
Sunday 9 November 2025 21:00 , Tara CobhamUS President Donald Trump's hesitancy in meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin has come as a relief to European leaders, who have accused the Kremlin of stalling for time with diplomacy while trying to gain ground on the battlefield.
Ukraine has repeatedly voiced readiness for the ceasefire and direct peace talks proposed by the Trump administration, while Moscow has held out for more favourable terms.
The US and Russian presidents last met in Alaska in August, but the encounter did not advance Mr Trump's stalled attempts to end a war that began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Russia's strikes hit power substations that supply two nuclear plants, Ukraine's foreign minister says
Sunday 9 November 2025 20:00 , Tara CobhamUkraine's foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia's mass drone and missile strikes on Friday hit power substations that supply two nuclear power plants.
"Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants," Mr Sybiha said on X late on Saturday. "These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe."
He called for an urgent meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors to respond to the risks posed by the attacks.
During today’s attacks, Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants.
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) November 8, 2025
These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe.
We call for an urgent meeting of the IAEA…
Watch: Inside Ukraine’s start-up weapons industry rising from the ashes
Sunday 9 November 2025 19:00 , Tara CobhamMoscow and Kyiv have traded almost daily assaults on energy targets
Sunday 9 November 2025 18:00 , Tara CobhamMoscow and Kyiv have traded almost daily assaults on each other's energy targets as diplomatic efforts to stop the almost four-year war have had no impact on the battlefield.
Ukraine's long-range drone strikes on Russian refineries aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue the war. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to "weaponise winter".
Ukraine strikes cut power and heating in two Russian cities
Sunday 9 November 2025 17:00 , Tara CobhamUkrainian strikes have disrupted power and heating to two major Russian cities near the border, local Russian officials have said.
A drone strike temporarily caused blackouts and cut heating to parts of Voronezh, regional governor Alexander Gusev said. He said several drones were electronically jammed during the night over the city, home to just over one million people, sparking a fire at a local utility facility that was quickly extinguished.
Russian and Ukrainian news channels on Telegram claimed the strike targeted a local thermal power plant.
A missile strike late on Saturday also caused "serious damage" to power and heating systems supplying the city of Belgorod, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported on Sunday morning. Some 20,000 households were affected.
Belgorod has a population of around 340,000 and is the administrative centre of a region of the same name.
Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces destroyed or intercepted 44 Ukrainian drones during the night that flew over two south-western regions, Bryansk and Rostov. The statement made no mention of either the Voronezh or Belgorod provinces, nor did it specify how many drones Ukraine launched.
Four Russian weapons chiefs killed in deadly helicopter crash in Dagestan
Sunday 9 November 2025 16:00 , Maira ButtFive people were killed, including four executives of Russian weapons companies, after a helicopter crashed in a village on the Caspian Sea in Dagestan.
Employees of the Kizlyar Electromechanical Plant, which has been subject to EU sanctions, tried to land on a beach when the tail rotor of the Ka-226 helicopter they were flying in broke off.
Footage shows the aircraft spinning before landing on the sand and bursting into flames.
The crash is said to have been caused by a “technical malfunction” according to Nexta, an Eastern European news channel.
Full report: UK military help Belgium combat suspected Russian drone flights
Sunday 9 November 2025 15:00 , Maira ButtThe UK is sending military support, including RAF specialists, to Belgium after suspected Russian drone incursions on its airspace, the new chief of Britain’s armed forces has announced.
In a decision made alongside Defence Secretary John Healey, Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the Chief of Defence Staff, the personnel and equipment are now on the way after his Belgian counterpart asked for help earlier this week.
Tara Cobham reports:
UK military help Belgium combat suspected Russian drone flights
Russia's Lavrov says ending Ukraine war 'impossible' without addressing causes
Sunday 9 November 2025 14:15 , Maira ButtRussia’s veteran foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that it would be “impossible” to end the war with Ukraine without addressing the root causes of the conflict and taking Russian interests into account.
It comes amid recent reports that President Vladimir Putin had sidelined the politician after his hardline stance during a phone call with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, leading to the postponing of a highly-anticipated summit between Putin and President Donald Trump.
Several Russian districts without electricity, say authorities
Sunday 9 November 2025 13:45 , Maira ButtLocal authorities have reported that an emergency shutdown is in place after several districts of the city of Taganrog in southern Russia were left without electricity on Sunday.
They did not mention what had caused the shutdown.
Russia's defence ministry says eight attempts by Ukrainian troops to break out of encirclement thwarted
Sunday 9 November 2025 13:15 , Maira ButtRussia’s defence ministry continued to claim that it had encircled Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk on Sunday as it said that eight attempts to break out of the encirclement had been repelled, according to IFX.
It added that six Ukrainian attempts to unblocked surrounded units in the Kupiansk area had also been thwarted.
Ukraine denies its troops are surrounded.
Special report: Inside Ukraine’s start-up weapons industry rising from the ashes
Sunday 9 November 2025 12:45 , Maira ButtNaive, self-sabotaging and riddled with Moscow’s agents, Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons and an arms industry that produced a third of the Soviet Union’s supply, trusted the West and the Kremlin to protect it - and was left fighting for its life.
Now, thirty years on, the start-up nation redefining how war is fought has been forced into a bodge-and-make-do world of arms production, fusing old technology with IT know-how to break the bonds its allies tied to make Kyiv fight one-handed.
The latest innovation is a cruise missile with a range of 3,000km, a maximum speed of 900km/h and a payload of over a tonne which has been used in strikes deep into Russian territory.
The Independent’s world affairs editor Sam Kiley reports:
Inside Ukraine’s start-up weapons industry rising from the ashes
Ukrainian energy company says Russian attacks on facility were largest
Sunday 9 November 2025 12:15 , Maira ButtState-owned energy company Tsentrenergo said the attacks on its facilities were the largest since the start of the war in February 2022.
It said had halted operations at its plants in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
“The last strike was not even a month ago and the enemy has now struck all our generating capacity at the same time. The stations are on fire!” Tsentrenergo, which generates about 8 per cent of Ukraine's power, said in a statement.
“Our generation is now zero.”
Britain to send military equipment to Belgium amid drone sightings
Sunday 9 November 2025 11:45 , Maira ButtThe UK is supporting Belgium with military equipment and personnel after drone sightings near airports and military bases led to temporary shutdowns in operations this week.
“The defence secretary and I agreed at the end of last week that we would deploy our people and our equipment to Belgium to help them,” Richard Knighton, head of Britain's armed forces, told the BBC.
He did not describe the details of the support provided. Knight said the actors behind the drones were not yet known, but noted Russia’s increased use if “hybrid warfare” in recent years.
German’s defence minister suggested that the drone sightings in Belgium were linked to threats to use of billions of dollars worth of Russia’s frozen assets to support Ukraine.
In pictures: The aftermath of power cuts after Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure
Sunday 9 November 2025 11:15 , Maira ButtUkraine is facing nationwide power outages as Russian strikes hit energy facilities in one of the worst onslaughts to affect the country’s civilian infrastructure.
At least seven people were killed in the attacks.
Russian attacks target nuclear substations, kill seven, Ukraine says
Sunday 9 November 2025 10:45 , Maira ButtRussia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine, targeting substations that supply two nuclear power plants and killing seven people, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.
"Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
"These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe."
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles.
Satellite images show scale of destruction in Pokrovsk as Russia pushes to take key Ukrainian city
Sunday 9 November 2025 10:15 , Maira ButtNew satellite images show how Pokrovsk, a key strategic city in Ukraine currently witnessing the fiercest fighting in the war with Russia, has been largely reduced to ruins.
On Thursday, Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had advanced in the battered city and were engaged in house-to-house battles as part of Vladimir Putin’s desperate push to capture his first meaningful urban centre in over a year.
Satellite images taken on Monday showed the deadliest sector of fighting between both sides shrouded in smoke and battered by months of fierce fighting.
Arpan Rai reports:
Satellite images show scale of destruction in Pokrovsk as Russia fights for key city
Russia captures Rybne settlement
Sunday 9 November 2025 09:29 , Maira ButtRussia’s defence ministry said that Russian forces have captured the settlement of Rybne in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region on Sunday.
The hamlet has around 34 residents, according to MapCarta.
Russia 'deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe', says Ukrainian foreign minister
Sunday 9 November 2025 09:15 , Maira ButtRussia’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has accused Russia of endangering nuclear safety in Europe after overnight attacks on Ukraine targeted two substations that supply two nuclear power plants. Seven people were killed in the strike.
“Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants,” Sybiha said on X/Twitter.
“These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe.”
Thousands have been left without power as Ukraine reels from one of the largest Russian attacks on Friday, which saw the country targeted by 450 drones and 45 missiles.
In Focus: Inside the year long battle for Pokrovsk as Russia closes in on key Ukrainian city
Sunday 9 November 2025 08:45 , Maira ButtRussian forces have advanced into the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, Moscow has said, as it hunts for its most significant territorial gain in nearly two years.
Around 100,000 Russian troops are circling Pokrovsk, a city that Russia has been trying to capture for over a year, located in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region that Vladimir Putin has long sought full Russian control over.
Kyiv’s military says it is pushing back forcefully, but battlefield maps show Russian forces are edging forward. A military analyst has warned that Ukraine will soon be forced to make a decision on whether to pull troops from Myrnohrad, a nearby town close to being encircled by Russian forces.
The following are the key facts about Pokrovsk, which Russians call by its Soviet-era name of Krasnoarmeysk, and the long battle for its control, which began in earnest in mid-2024.
Alex Croft reports:
Inside the year long battle for Pokrovsk as Russia closes in on key Ukrainian city
US considering Russian proposal on nuclear arms control, says Lavrov
Sunday 9 November 2025 08:15 , Maira ButtRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the US is reviewing President Vladimir Putin’s proposals on controls on nuclear weapons.
Lavrov said Russia had been informed of the update through diplomatic channels.
The proposal would see both countries stick to the limitations set out in the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) beyond its expiration in February 2026.
“So far, there has been no substantive response from Washington. We were told through diplomatic channels that 'the issue is under consideration,” Lavrov told RIA Novosti.
Putin has said that Russia will continue to adhere to the treat’s limits for a year after its expiration, provided the US does too.
Russia captures tiny village in eastern Ukraine amid fight for Pokrovsk
Sunday 9 November 2025 08:00 , Stuti MishraRussia said it continues to advance in house-by-house fighting in the strategic town of Pokrovsk where the battle with Ukraine has intensified in recent days.
The tiny village of Vovche in eastern Ukraine was captured on Saturday, according to the defence ministry’s Telegram account. Its inhabitants are said to be 13 people, according to census data from 2001.
Russia's foreign minister Lavrov says he is ready to meet US secretary of state Rubio
Sunday 9 November 2025 07:41 , Maira ButtRussia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said he is ready to meet with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, reviving hopes of diplomatic talks on Ukraine.
“Secretary of State Marco Rubio and I understand the need for regular communication,” Lavrov said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
“It is important for discussing the Ukrainian issue and promoting the bilateral agenda. That is why we communicate by telephone and are ready to hold face-to-face meetings when necessary.”
A highly-anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and President Vladimir Putin was stalled after Lavrov was said to have taken a hardline stance during a call with Rubio last month. Trump said he did not want to “waste time”.
ICYMI: Moscow says proposals for Russian nuclear test being prepared
Sunday 9 November 2025 07:30 , Stuti MishraRussian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that work is under way on Vladimir Putin's order to prepare proposals for a possible Russian nuclear test, state news agency Tass reported.
According to Tass, Lavrov said: "Regarding President Vladimir Putin's instruction at the Security Council meeting on November 5, it has been accepted for implementation and is being worked on. The public will be informed of the results."
The order was in response to Donald Trump's surprise announcement last week that the US would resume testing.
Lavrov said Russia had received no clarification from the US regarding Trump's order.
Russia-US relations have deteriorated sharply in the past few weeks as Trump, frustrated with a lack of progress towards ending the war in Ukraine, has cancelled a planned summit with Putin and imposed sanctions on Russia for the first time since returning to the White House in January.
Watch: Moment 11-year-old girl bravely confronts Putin after uncle injured in war
Sunday 9 November 2025 07:01 , Maira ButtLucy Leeson reports:
This is the moment an 11-year-old girl bravely confronts Vladimir Putin about her uncle injured in the war with Ukraine.
The child approached Putin at Russia’s Unity Day service on Tuesday (4 November), telling him how her uncle suffered an injury to the arm that went untreated in hospital before being sent back to fight.
She said “My uncle is currently at the front, he was wounded in the arm. He was in the hospital, they weren't treating him, and now they're sending him on a mission, and I would like him to be transferred to a good hospital in Russia.”
Putin replies: “We’ll find him, ok?”
Ukraine drone strike temporarily cuts utilities in Russia's Voronezh, governor says
Sunday 9 November 2025 06:30 , Stuti MishraAn overnight drone attack by Ukraine temporarily disrupted power and heating supplies in the southwestern Russia city of Voronezh, a regional governor has said.
The attack on Voronezh, the administrative centre of the wider Voronezh region, caused no injuries, governor Alexander Gusev said on the Telegram messaging app.
Several drones were suppressed by electronic warfare systems, sparking a fire at a utility facility that was quickly extinguished, he added.
Safety measures led to brief changes in central heating temperatures in some homes and to short power cuts in parts of the city, but supplies later returned to normal, Mr Gusev said.
Fears Pokrovsk will fall ‘within weeks’ as Ukraine sends in its elite units
Sunday 9 November 2025 06:00 , Maira ButtThe battle for Pokrovsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region has reached a pivotal stage, with Russian and Ukrainian forces locked in intense combat, even vying for control of individual residential buildings, according to soldiers and analysts.
This fierce fighting on the ground also underpins a crucial diplomatic struggle, as both Moscow and Kyiv seek to persuade U.S. President Donald Trump of their military advantage and the opposing side's weakness.
Russia asserts its forces have encircled Pokrovsk and successfully thwarted Ukrainian attempts to re-establish supply lines. However, Ukraine refutes claims of a blockade, stating that fighting continues and its forces are inflicting significant casualties on the Russians.
Fears Pokrovsk will fall ‘within weeks’ as Ukraine sends in its elite units
Ukrainian energy company says Russian attacks on facility were largest
Sunday 9 November 2025 05:30 , Stuti MishraState-owned energy company Tsentrenergo said the attacks were the largest on its facilities since the start of the war in February 2022, and that it had halted operations at its plants in the Kyiv and Kharkiv regions.
"The last strike was not even a month ago and the enemy has now struck all our generating capacity at the same time. The stations are on fire!" Tsentrenergo, which generates about 8 per cent of Ukraine's power, said in a statement.
"Our generation is now zero."
Russia has lost 1.15 million troops since invasion, says Ukraine
Sunday 9 November 2025 05:01 , Maira ButtUkraine’s General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces has reported that Russia has lost around 1,150,100 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, in new figures released on Saturday.
According to the report, Russia has lost 11,330 tanks, 23,544 armoured fighting vehicles and fuel tanks and 34,321 artillery systems during the conflict.
The figures include the loss of 1,538 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,239 air defense systems, 428 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 78,928 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
Ukraine's energy grid stabilised after Russian attacks
Sunday 9 November 2025 04:30 , Stuti MishraEnergy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk said emergency crews had stabilised the power grid, but warned consumers that further power cuts were needed to allow work to proceed after the attacks.
"We are assessing the aftermath and coordinating what actions to take in order to find alternative power sources to ensure people get their power and heating back," Ms Hrynchuk said on national television.
News reports and unofficial social media accounts said blackouts persisted in at least two regions - Kharkiv in the northeast and Poltava in central Ukraine.
Russian soldier jailed for life after killing POW in landmark Ukraine war ruling
Sunday 9 November 2025 04:02 , Maira ButtThe case carries symbolic importance for the country, with suspects accused of executing Ukrainian soldiers usually out of its jurisdiction.
Criminal investigations are underway into the alleged murder of 322 Ukrainian servicemen who had unconditionally laid down their arms and/or surrendered since Russia invaded the country in February 2022, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office.
The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission said in February that there had been an “alarming rise” in reported executions of Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russia.
It is illegal under international humanitarian law to execute prisoners of war and the wounded, and such actions are regarded as war crimes.
Russian soldier jailed for life after killing POW in landmark Ukraine war ruling
Russian attacks target nuclear substations, kill seven, Ukraine says
Sunday 9 November 2025 03:34 , Stuti MishraRussia launched a barrage of drones and missiles in overnight attacks on Ukraine, targeting substations that supply two nuclear power plants and killing seven people, Ukrainian officials said on Saturday.
"Russia once again targeted substations that power the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne nuclear power plants," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on X.
"These were not accidental but well-planned strikes. Russia is deliberately endangering nuclear safety in Europe."
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched more than 450 drones and 45 missiles.
Ukraine to launch mass production of homegrown 'Shmavic' drone to replace Chinese DJI Mavic
Sunday 9 November 2025 03:00 , Maira ButtUkraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the start of mass production of a domestically made drone modelled after the Chinese DJI Mavic, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign drones used widely on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s new "Shmavic" drone is being produced by local firms and incorporates locally made components designed to resist Russian electronic warfare.
The move comes after China restricted DJI drone shipments to Ukraine, prompting Kyiv to accelerate domestic alternatives.
Ukraine claims to have hit major Russian oil refinery with drones
Sunday 9 November 2025 02:01 , Maira ButtUkrainian drones have reportedly struck a significant oil refinery in Russia's Volgograd region for the second time in less than three months, according to Kyiv's general staff.
The attack, which Ukraine claims occurred on Wednesday, targeted the largest producer of fuel and lubricants in Russia’s Southern Federal District.
Ukrainian officials estimate the refinery processes over 15 million tonnes of crude annually, accounting for approximately 5.6 per cent of the country’s total refining capacity.
Ukraine claims to have hit major Russian oil refinery with drones
