Overview
- Ukrainian officials counted 157 engagements on October 29, with 47 Russian assaults on the Pokrovsk axis and heavy fighting also on the Oleksandrivka and Kostyantynivka directions.
- Zelensky said the situation is toughest near Pokrovsk and reported planning for long‑range operations after consultations with senior commanders.
- Ukraine said overnight strikes damaged the Novospassky and Mari El refineries and hit the Budyonnovsk gas processing plant, while drones ignited fires at oil depots near Simferopol in occupied Crimea.
- Ukrainian officers described Russian tactics around Pokrovsk as small‑group infiltration paired with widespread destruction of infrastructure resembling a scorched‑earth approach.
- On the home front, investigators detained former Ukrenergo head Volodymyr Kudrytsky on fraud suspicions, security services say Odesa’s mayor holds Russian citizenship, and Kyiv started residential heating for the season.