Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in
Swipe for next article
Putin’s forces outnumber Ukrainian troops by eight to one in strategic hub of Pokrovsk, says Zelensky
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Poland has said its aircraft intercepted a Russian jet carrying out a mission over the Baltic Sea with its transponder turned off this morning.
“Polish fighters intercepted an Il-20 aircraft conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off. The aircraft did not violate Polish airspace,” the Polish Army said in a post on X.
This comes as Russian soldiers gained a foothold in the strategic eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, Volodymyr Zelensky says.
The Ukrainian president said Russia had devoted vast numbers of troops to capturing the town, which is a key part of Kyiv‘s defensive lines in Donetsk, but that it had so far failed to do so.
He said Vladimir Putin‘s forces outnumbered Ukrainians there by eight to one.
“Imagine how many Russian forces are there. But at the same time, they have not achieved the planned result,” he said.
Zelensky’s battlefield update came as Moscow was again targeted as part of a broader Ukrainian drone attack for the third night in a row.
Polish aircraft intercepted a Russian aircraft which was carrying out a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off, the Polish Army said this morning.
“Polish fighters intercepted an Il-20 aircraft conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, without a filed flight plan and with its transponder turned off. The aircraft did not violate Polish airspace,” the army said in a post on X.
Russian soldiers have gained a foothold in the strategic eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian president said Russia had devoted vast numbers of troops to capturing the town, which is a key part of Kyiv’s defensive lines in Donetsk, but that it had so far failed to do so.
He said Vladimir Putin’s forces outnumbered Ukrainians there by eight to one. “Imagine how many Russian forces are there. But at the same time, they have not achieved the planned result,” he said.
Russia controls about 75 per cent of the Donetsk region. About 6,600 sq km (2,548 square miles) is still under Ukraine’s control.
The Ukrainian open-source mapping project Deep State in the past week has reduced the area to the southwest of Pokrovsk that it considers under Ukrainian control, increasing the area “requiring clarification” to around one-fifth of the city. The city was a key Ukrainian logistics hub before the war.
In the past one year, Russian forces have gradually advanced toward Pokrovsk after capturing the long-time Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka, which lies around 25 miles to the southeast.
A storage container containing fuel and lubricants in the city of Simferopol in Russian-annexed Crimea was hit by a Ukrainian drone and caught fire, the Moscow-installed governor said this morning.
There were no casualties and emergency services were working at the scene, the governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote on his Telegram channel.
Ukrainian and European officials are set to meet at the end of the week to discuss the details of a ceasefire plan, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“It is not a plan to end the war. First of all, a ceasefire is needed,” Zelensky told media. “This is a plan to begin diplomacy… Our advisers will meet in the coming days, we agreed on Friday or Saturday. They will discuss the details of this plan.”
Ukraine would need stable financing from its European allies for another two or three years, Zelensky said.
Zelensky also urged US lawmakers to pass tougher restrictions on Russia after Trump imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two biggest oil companies.
Ukraine is ready for peace talks but will not withdraw its troops from additional territory first as Moscow has demanded, president Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky added that he was happy for talks to be held anywhere, except in Russia itself or on the territory of Moscow’s close ally Belarus.
Zelensky said he was happy to attend peace talks even in Hungary, despite reservations about some of the positions of its prime minister Viktor Orban, who, he said, “blocks everything for Ukraine”.
“If there will be results, then God bless – let the talks take place anywhere,” he said. “It almost doesn’t matter, just not in Russia, of course, and definitely not in Belarus.”
Peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine were scheduled to be held in Budapest in a summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin but was put on hold after Moscow pushed its demands further, including asking Ukraine to cede more territory as a condition for a ceasefire.
Belarus will deploy Russia’s new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile system in December, said Natalya Eismont, spokesperson for president Alexander Lukashenko.
Preparations for the deployment of the missile, which Vladimir Putin says is impossible to intercept, were nearing completion, Eismont said.
Russia first used the Oreshnik – which means hazel tree in Russian – against Ukraine in November 2024, targeting a defence enterprise in Dnipro.
Putin said he had authorised that strike in retaliation for Ukraine’s use of US and British long-range missiles on Russian territory. He later threatened further strikes, including on “decision-making centres” in Kyiv, if such attacks continued.
Putin has said the Oreshnik has destructive power comparable to a nuclear weapon, though Western experts have questioned these assertions.
Earlier, Lukashenko said the deployment was a response to what he called Western escalation. The Oreshnik missiles featured in joint Russian-Belarusian military exercises last month.
Ukraine is rushing to strengthen its positions in the strategic eastern transport hub of Pokrovsk as about 200 Russian troops have infiltrated the city in small groups, Kyiv’s military said.
Last night, Volodymyr Zelensky said his troops have been outnumbered by Russian troops by eight to one in the region.
Russia has been aiming to occupy Pokrovsk, a key part of Kyiv’s defensive lines, for months, seeing it as a crucial point for its push to fully capture the Donetsk region.
It has also been described as a “fortress belt” by the Institute for the Study of War, given that Donetsk forms the main fortified defensive line along the eastern region, halting Russia in their tracks.
“Ukraine is holding a key defensive line across Donetsk,” says Elina Beketova, a fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis, describing a “fortified zone buildup over years because the war began 11 years ago”.
“It’s not just trenches, it’s a deep, layered defence with bunkers, anti-tank ditches, minefields, and industrial areas built into the terrain. The area includes dominant heights, rivers, and urban zones that make it extremely hard to capture,” explains Beketova.
Relinquishing the territory would be “catastrophic” for Ukraine, especially if they are not given concrete security guarantees such as Article 5 protection from Nato.
A critical region of Ukraine became the centre of a heated debate between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump during their White House meeting.
Vladimir Putin has long demanded that Ukraine cede the Donbas to Moscow, a chunk of eastern Ukraine the majority of which has been occupied by Russian forces since its February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In recent months, Moscow has also reinforced its efforts to seize these remaining areas, pushing towards cities like Pokrovsk and intensifying drone and air strikes.
It is crucially important to Ukraine, given that the region holds one of the largest coal reserves and is viewed as an energy powerhouse by Kyiv.
Read more here:
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in