Overview
- Russia’s defense ministry says its forces seized Mala Tokmatschka and Rivnopillia, with independent reporting pointing to additional southern village gains that bring troops within a few kilometers of the road to Huliajpole.
- Urban combat continues inside Pokrovsk, where observers report Russian units in the city; Ukraine launched local counterattacks to keep supply and evacuation routes open.
- Military analysts describe a drone-saturated battlespace in which a deadly engagement zone has shifted up to 40 kilometers behind Ukrainian lines, with fog further degrading Ukrainian drone effectiveness.
- Reciprocal strikes on energy infrastructure escalated: Ukraine targeted refineries and the Novorossiysk oil terminal and claims S-400 systems were destroyed, while Russia hit Ukrainian power assets and killed at least three people in Balakliia.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a €2 billion winter gas import deal with Greece and is seeking an air-defense and fighter package in Paris, as Ukrainian officials work to restart prisoner exchanges covering about 1,200 captives.