Ukraine has mounted a fierce defence of Pokrovsk for the fifth straight week since Russia’s concerted offensive started to take its jap metropolis, whereas on the similar time it tries to finesse a Russian-inspired United States peace plan closely criticised by US lawmakers.
The Russian Ministry of Defence mentioned on Monday its “assault teams of the 2nd Military have fully liberated the Gornyak and Shakhtersky microdistricts in Pokrovsk.
On Tuesday, it mentioned its forces had been preventing within the Vostochny and Zapadny districts of Myrnohrad, to the east of Pokrovsk.
Each cities, in Ukraine’s Donetsk area, lie inside an envelope which Russian forces have step by step tried to seal shut. Provides and reinforcements can at the moment solely attain Ukrainian forces from the west – and Russia claims to have efficient fireplace management over these provide routes.
Ukrainian officers insisted the defence of Pokrovsk was nonetheless very a lot a contest. “Our positions are held within the centre of Pokrovsk, capturing battles proceed, and the enemy fails to consolidate,” mentioned Ukraine’s head of the Heart for Countering Disinformation Andriy Kovalenko on Sunday, citing the seventh Air Assault Brigade preventing there.
Ukraine has evidently strained its assets to defend the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad enclave, whereas the focus of Russian offensive forces in Pokrovsk has not compromised their capacity to assault elsewhere.
Throughout November 20-27, Russia claimed to have seized Petropavlovka in Kharkiv, Novoselivka, Maslyakovka, Yampol, Stavki, Zvanovka, Petrovskoye, Ivanopolye and Vasyukovka in Donetsk, Tikhoye and Otradnoye in Dniperopetrovsk, and Novoye Zaporozhiye and Zatishye in Zaporizhia.
The Russian forces’ current fee of advance has amounted to about half a dozen villages per week.
However Ukraine disputes a few of Russia’s claims.
On November 20, Russian chief of employees Valery Gerasimov mentioned his forces had seized town of Kupiansk in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv area, and had been setting upon retreating Ukrainian models on the left financial institution of the Oskil River.
However Kovalenko replied on the Telegram messaging service: “Russia did NOT occupy Kupiansk. Gerasimov is only a liar,” and he repeated the declare per week later.
Ukraine has additionally had successes on the bottom, in response to its commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskii. “Regardless of enemy strain, the Defence Forces of Ukraine managed to hold out counteroffensive actions within the Dobropillia course from the tip of August to October this yr,” he mentioned, referring to a failed Russian flanking manoeuvre in the direction of a city northwest of Pokrovsk.
“In consequence, the models break up the enemy’s offensive group and liberated over 430 sq. kilometres [166 square miles] north of Pokrovsk. Russian losses amounted to greater than 13,000 killed and wounded.”
Russia additionally saved up strain on Ukraine’s rear, launching 1,169 drones and 25 missiles at its cities throughout the week of November 20-26. Ukraine downed 85 % of the drones and 14 of the missiles, however Zelenskyy known as for extra short- and medium-range defences.
Questionable diplomacy
Europe, Ukraine and members of the US Congress have all pushed again towards a 28-point peace plan introduced by the US administration of Donald Trump final week, describing it as too Russia-friendly.
In its unique type, the plan granted key factors that Russia has demanded. That included a promise from Ukraine by no means to affix NATO and the surrendering of just about all of the territory Russia has taken by power, together with the unoccupied the rest of Donetsk. The US and Ukraine’s different Western allies must recognise these annexations as authorized.
Ukraine must maintain an election inside 100 days of the plan’s signature – one which Russia appears to imagine would unseat Zelenskyy.
Russia has additionally demanded that Ukraine successfully disarm. The 28-point plan suggests decreasing its armed forces by a few third, to 600,000 personnel.
“Proper now is among the hardest moments in our historical past,” Zelenskyy informed the Ukrainian folks after seeing the plan, describing it as a alternative between “both the lack of our dignity or the danger of shedding a key companion”.
The Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Providers Committee Senator Roger Wicker mentioned in a press release: “This so-called ‘peace plan’ has actual issues, and I’m extremely skeptical it would obtain peace.”
Polish Premier Donald Tusk politely mentioned on social media: “It will be good to know for positive who’s the writer of the plan and the place was it created.”
The plan drew closely from a Russian non-paper submitted to the White Home in October, mentioned the Reuters information company.
“Trump’s 28-point plan, which we have now, enshrines the important thing understandings reached throughout the Alaska summit,” Russian International Minister Sergey Lavrov informed reporters.
“I might say not all, however many provisions of this plan, they appear fairly acceptable to us,” Putin aide Yury Ushakov informed the TASS Russian state information company.
The UK, France and Germany drafted a counter-proposal on Sunday, and a Ukrainian delegation led by former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov met with US negotiators underneath Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Geneva to debate each paperwork.
Europe dominated out accepting territorial exchanges ensuing from aggression, and instructed territorial negotiations start from the road of contact with out prior Ukrainian concessions. It additionally instructed Ukraine preserve a powerful military of no fewer than 800,000 folks, and obtain an efficient NATO safety assure.
Their joint assertion on Monday merely mentioned they’d “proceed intensive work”, with last choices to be made by Trump and Zelenskyy.
A lot had been finished to refine the unique 28 factors right into a workable settlement, mentioned Zelenskyy. “Now the checklist of needed steps to finish the battle can develop into doable,” he informed Ukrainians considerably cryptically, describing the work that remained as “very difficult”.
Ukraine has pushed for a gathering between Zelenskyy and Trump earlier than December to thrash out the plan’s last type, however on Tuesday, Bloomberg launched transcripts of a leaked phone dialog between Trump confidant Steve Witkoff and Putin aide Yury Ushakov, during which Witkoff suggested Ushakov to have Putin name Trump earlier than Zelenskyy had an opportunity to fulfill him. Witkoff instructed that Putin flatter Trump as a peacemaker to win his favour and form the peace plan straight with him.
That leak prompted opposition to Witkoff travelling to Moscow subsequent week to debate the reworked plan with Russian officers. The White Home mentioned he’s to switch Basic Keith Kellogg, who resigned as mediator for Ukraine after seeing the unique 28-point plan.
“It’s clear that Witkoff totally favors the Russians. He can’t be trusted to guide these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do lower than he?” wrote Republican Congressman Don Bacon on social media.
For individuals who oppose the Russian invasion and need to see Ukraine prevail as a sovereign & democratic nation, it’s clear that Witkoff totally favors the Russians. He can’t be trusted to guide these negotiations. Would a Russian paid agent do lower than he? He ought to be fired. https://t.co/dxMsda0YV5
— Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ (@RepDonBacon) November 25, 2025
In his first in depth remarks on the peace proposal, in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin backed away from an settlement with Ukraine, saying, “Signing paperwork with the Ukrainian management is pointless,” as a result of Zelenskyy was a president who had outlived his mandate.
“I imagine that the Ukrainian authorities made a elementary and strategic mistake after they succumbed to the concern of taking part within the presidential elections,” he mentioned, referring to the spring of 2025, when Zelenskyy’s four-year time period expired.
Zelenskyy was elected in 2019, and the parliament has twice prolonged his tenure underneath the constitutional provision of a nationwide emergency.
Putin mentioned the 28 factors didn’t quantity to a peace treaty, calling them “a set of questions that had been proposed for dialogue and last wording”.
“Basically, we agree that this may be the premise for future agreements,” Putin mentioned.
