Tuesday, November 25, 2025
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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
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Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief
at the Kyiv Independent
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Firefighters work to extinguish a blaze in a high-rise apartment building hit by a Russian attack in Kyiv on Nov. 25, 2025. (Ukraine’s State Emergency Service / Telegram)
Ukrainian homes burn as Russian missiles hit Kyiv — at least 2 killed, 7 injured in mass attack. Several multistory residential buildings caught fire and at least two people have been killed in what the Energy Ministry called “a massive combined attack…on infrastructure facilities.”
Russian forces attempt to push Ukrainian army from eastern bank of Oskil River in Kharkiv Oblast, military says. While the situation in the settlements of Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi remains unchanged, Russian troops are trying to advance east of them.
Ukraine’s drones strike Russian chemical factory in Crimea, number of energy facilities ‘blacked out.’ The Brom plant is a major manufacturer of bromine and related salts, the only one of its kind in Eastern Europe.
Ukrainian drones target Russian military aircraft manufacturer in reported strikes. In Taganrog, Rostov Oblast, a fire reportedly broke out at the Beriev Aircraft Company, which produces Russian amphibious seaplanes and the rare A-50 spy plane.
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Kremlin rejects European counter-proposal to US peace plan for Ukraine. Kyiv’s European partners reportedly pitched the plan as a counter-proposal to a 28-point document backed by the Trump administration, which was criticized for heavily favoring Russia.
Ukraine reiterates its ‘red lines’ amid speculations about military size, territory. Ukraine remains ready for peace talks with Russia but will never legally recognize the Russian occupation or accept restrictions on its army size or alliances, Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
US 28-point peace plan cut down after talks, new draft includes ‘right elements,’ Zelensky says. The revised version is more aligned with Ukraine’s position, but negotiating a final agreement is “very difficult,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 25.
Ukraine says no plans for Trump-Zelensky meeting yet, despite media reports. There are no plans for the president’s next visit to the U.S. so far, but no options are off the table, the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington told the Kyiv Independent on Nov. 24.
Read our exclusives
Russian strikes spared Ukraine’s nuclear plants. Corruption didn’t
While Russian attacks pounded Ukraine’s power system, one energy company was mostly unscathed — becoming the cash cow behind the largest corruption scheme of Zelensky’s term.
Photo: Roman Pilipey / AFP via Getty Images
Learn more
How Russia’s propaganda machine weaponizes mobilization in Ukraine
As Ukraine faces the grueling demands of prolonged war, its mobilization system has become an especially sensitive topic — precisely the space where Russian disinformation thrives.
Photo: Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images
Human cost of war
At least 6 killed, 36 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine over past day. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 125 drones. Thirty-seven drones made it through, striking 15 locations, while debris from downed drones fell on one additional site.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,166,450 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022. Russia has lost around 1,166,450 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Nov. 24.
International response
Czech company accused of overcharging Ukraine for drones, media reports. A Czech company has been accused of selling Chinese-made drones to Ukraine at steep markups — sometimes nearly 20 times the original price — and is under investigation for alleged tax evasion, Czech media reported on Nov. 24.
Poland charges another Ukrainian over suspected Russian-backed railway sabotage. Volodymyr B. was charged with assisting what Warsaw called an “unprecedented act of sabotage,” allegedly orchestrated by Russian intelligence.
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In other news
Ukrainian agencies deny preparing charges against head of Zelensky’s faction, chief anti-graft prosecutor. The report comes amid speculation that the President’s Office was allegedly preparing to retaliate against Klymenko and Arakhamia over their independent stances on a large-scale corruption scandal at state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom.
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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Chris York, Oleg Sukhov, Kateryna Hodunova, Lucy Pakhnyuk, and Abbey Fenbert.
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Ukrainian agencies deny preparing charges against head of Zelensky's faction, chief anti-graft prosecutor
The report comes amid speculation that the President's Office was allegedly preparing to retaliate against Klymenko and Arakhamia over their independent stances on a large-scale corruption scandal at state nuclear power monopoly Energoatom.Oleg Sukhov (The Kyiv Independent)