Ukraine-Russia war latest: Nato member Romania evacuates villages after Putin’s attack on tanker
Ukraine ‘strikes thermal power stations’ in occupied Donetsk
Ukraine attacked two thermal power stations in the Russian-occupied Donetsk, the commander of its drone forces said on Tuesday.
Major Robert Brovdi wrote that the Starobeshivska and Zuivska power plants had been hit by his forces.
He posted a video appearing to show onboard footage from a drone attacking one of the facilities.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 11:32
Russia discusses prisoner swaps with US in effort to show goodwill
Russia and the United States have discussed the possibility of conducting another prisoner exchange, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev told Axios in an interview published on Tuesday.
“I met some US officials and members of the Trump team on some issues that are humanitarian in nature, such as possible exchanges of prisoners that the US side has been working on,” Dmitriev said.
Dmitriev discussed the idea of the latest swap with US envoy Steve Witkoff and other administration officials, the Axios report added, citing a source.
In August 2024, the US and Russia carried out their biggest prisoner swap since the Cold War, with 24 prisoners gaining their freedom, including US journalist Evan Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 11:14
‘Everything points to Russia’, Poland says after train-track explosion
Everything points to Russian intelligence services commissioning sabotage on Polish railways over the weekend, a spokesperson for the special services minister said on Tuesday.
An explosion that damaged a Polish railway track on a route to Ukraine was an “unprecedented act of sabotage”, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Monday as he vowed to catch those responsible for an incident he said could have ended in tragedy.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 10:29
Russia will not take part in Istanbul talks this week
Russian representatives will not take part in talks on Ukraine in Istanbul on Wednesday, a Kremlin spokesperson said today, with Zelensky and US special envoy Steve Witkoff heading for Turkey this week.
Russia’s foreign ministry indicated last week that Moscow is ready to resume direct talks in Istanbul, some four months since the last round took place.
“The Russian team is ready for this, the ball is in the Ukrainian court,” said foreign ministry official, Alexei Polishchuk.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 10:15
Ukraine’s corruption scandal: What to know about Operation Midas
Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies announced last Monday, 10 November, that they had uncovered a large scale corruption scheme in the country’s energy sector.
National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (Nabu) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (Sap) concluded after 15 months of investigation that some of Zelensky’s close associates were involved in a plot to launder around $100mn from Ukraine’s energy sector.
In ‘Operation Midas’, the agencies dismantled an alleged criminal organisation consisting of current and former energy officials, government ministers, a former deputy prime minister, and a businessman.
The accused are said to have manipulated contracts at Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company, to take kickbacks – secret payments, like a bribe, made in exchange for a favour. These were said to be worth some 10-15 per cent of contracts given to build up fortifications against Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, as civilians face rolling blackouts.
By Tuesday, 11 November, eight people had been charged with bribery, embezzlement and illicit enrichment. President Zelensky vowed to “overhaul” state-owned energy companies in the wake of the scandal, starting with a full audit.
Several of those implicated in the scandal are closely linked to the president. Zelensky is not directly implicated.
Earlier this year, Zelensky faced scrutiny for signing a law limiting the independence of Nabu and Sap. Ukraine saw its first major anti-government protests since the invasion in 2022.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 10:00
Teenager among killed in Russian attack in Kharkiv – local officials
A 17-year-old girl was killed in a Russian attack on Berestyn city in Ukraine’s Kharkiv oblast overnight.
The girl, who has not been named, was critically wounded in the strike and later died from her injuries, regional governor Oleg Synegubov reported.
Nine people were injured in the attack, including seven who were hospitalised with blast injuries, he wrote on Telegram on Tuesday.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 09:39
In pictures: Aftermath of Turkish-flagged tanker set ablaze in ‘drone strike’
From the Romanian side of the border on the Danube, a Ukrainian vessel sprays water on a cargo ship engulfed by flames following Russian strikes (AP)A drone struck a Turkish-flagged tanker and set it ablaze on Monday in southern Ukraine’s Odesa region (AP)
James Reynolds18 November 2025 09:05
Witkoff expected to join talks with Zelensky in Turkey
US special envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to visit Turkey on Wednesday to join the planned talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, a Turkish source told Reuters today.
Zelensky said earlier that he planned to head to Turkey after his Tuesday visit to Spain, adding that Ukraine was preparing to reinvigorate negotiations and had developed solutions that it would propose to its partners.
The Kremlin has suggested openness to resuming talks in Istanbul. The last time a delegation from Russia and from Ukraine met for direct talks was in July.
James Reynolds18 November 2025 08:46
Latest images of attack on Ukrainian broadcaster building
We’ve had more images through on the wires of the Russian attack on Dnipro, which damaged the building housing Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne and Ukrainian Radio Dnipro.
(REUTERS)(REUTERS)
Alex Croft18 November 2025 08:23
Ukrainian public broadcaster newsroom struck in Russian air attack
A major overnight Russian drone attack has damaged a Dnipro newsroom, injured two people and sparked several fires, the local governor has said.
A building housing public broadcaster Suspilne and Ukrainian Radio Dnipro was hit in the attack, Suspilne reported on Tuesday.
Vladyslav Haivanenko, the acting governor of Dnipropetrovsk region, of which Dnipro is the administrative centre, later reported that that Russian drones had pounded the region late on Monday.
A fire broke out in the Suspilne building, windows and doors were blown out, and the building’s floors and roof were damaged, the broadcaster reported. No staff were inside at the time.
Suspilne, which is Ukraine’s nationwide public broadcaster, posted a photo showing a gaping hole torn through a building’s concrete floors, leaving exposed metal reinforcing bars, dangling wires and collapsed ceiling panels below.
No staff were in the building at the time of the strike (REUTERS)
Alex Croft18 November 2025 08:09
