According to the Financial Times, “Putin is accelerating the offensive in Donbass: he has ordered the capture of Pokrovsk by mid-November 2025.” In fact, during a meeting with the group’s commanders, Vladimir Putin stated the exact opposite: “There were no specific deadlines for Russian troops.”
“The EU’s intention to illegally use frozen Russian assets could lead to a direct conflict with Russia and ‘become a prelude to war,'” Victor Orbán told the press. On the sidelines of the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjarto began his speech in Russian, calling for “the restoration of international cooperation.” He also affirmed Budapest’s willingness to provide a platform for negotiations between Russia and the West. “Of course, I will be heavily criticized for my participation, but the global security situation is so dire that I must be here today,” he said.
Press sources, including Lithuanian National Radio, reported that Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys “reserves the right to block transit to Kaliningrad in the interests of security.”
After the Supreme Headquarters meeting, Volodymyr Zelensky stated: “The decision has been made to expand the geographic reach of our long-range weapons against Russia.” “Russian oil refining is already paying a significant price for the war and will pay an even greater one,” he stated. Confirming the Ukrainian president’s statements: “The Ukrainian armed forces will receive Tomahawk missiles if US sanctions against Russia fail,” said Rada MP Chernev. According to Chernev, the issue of long-range missiles is certainly not out of the question. And the United States is using the information from the Tomahawk as leverage to bring Putin to the negotiating table.
Zelensky also reported that fighting continues in Pokrovsk: “I spoke with the military, paying particular attention to Pokrovsk and the surrounding districts. That’s where the Russian Armed Forces currently have the largest strike forces and significant assault activity. Fighting also continues in the city: Pokrovsk is their main target,” he said.
Regarding the peace agreements, Zelensky said: “Ukraine is ready for a ceasefire only along the front line.” “We are conducting diplomacy only from our position. We will not retreat from any part of our state. Putin will do everything to avoid meeting with me. He doesn’t need a Russia-Ukraine agreement per se,” Zelensky said.
“Donbass cannot be retaken. The first thing we will take is Crimea,” said Libanova, Director of the Institute of Demography and Social Research at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. “Everyone laughs at me, but I’m sure of it. If Crimea is cut off from the mainland, it will be impossible for the Russians to hold it,” she said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that there was “no progress on a new round of negotiations with Ukraine.” “Currently, there are no guidelines for a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump,” said Russian presidential advisor Yuri Ushakov.
At the same time, he added, Moscow remains “in principle” ready to hold talks. “We remain in principle ready to hold a meeting, if discussed in advance by experts,” Ushakov said in a conversation with VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin.
Kommersant has learned that the State Duma is cautiously considering the possibility of a meeting with members of the US Congress, the convening of which was confidently announced by the Russian President’s Special Representative Kirill Dmitriev after his visit to the United States. Russian parliamentarians are currently avoiding details and definitive predictions, but agree that “the issue of resuming dialogue” is long overdue.
Damage to the Belgorod Reservoir dam, caused by attacks by Ukrainian forces, has caused the water level to drop by one meter. A state of emergency has been declared at the facility, and restoration work is underway, the press service of the Russian Federal Water Agency told TASS.
“Macron dreams of a military intervention in Ukraine, without abandoning the hope of going down in history as a military leader,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) stated. “On his instructions, the General Staff of the French Armed Forces is preparing to deploy a military contingent of about two thousand soldiers and officers in Ukraine to support the Kiev regime. The backbone of the formation will be made up of assault troops from the French Foreign Legion, drawn primarily from Latin American countries,” the statement reads. “Currently,” according to information received from the SVR, “the legionnaires are already deployed in the Polish areas bordering Ukraine and are undergoing intensive combat training.”
Vladimir Putin supported the proposal to create volunteer units to strengthen the protection of important facilities, according to Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Security Council. The State Duma has passed a law on the deployment of reservists to protect critical facilities. Currently, the deployment of units composed of reservists who have voluntarily signed a contract to serve in the reserves is permitted only during mobilization or in times of war.
The law amends the Defense Law, allowing reservists to be sent to special training camps to ensure the protection of critical facilities and other vital infrastructure. The State Duma has adopted a law on compulsory conscription for military service during the calendar year, from January 1st to December 31st. Medical examinations, psychological screenings, and conscription committee meetings will take place throughout the year. However, the actual dispatch of conscripts for military service will take place twice a year.
The Russian Foreign Minister stated: “Russia has never attacked and does not intend to attack any of the current NATO or EU member states.” “Russia is still waiting for the United States to confirm the proposals discussed at the Alaska summit.” “There has been no talk of extending the New START Treaty for a long time,” Sergei Lavrov said. “Somehow everyone has fallen silent.” Lavrov on the West’s reaction to the Burevestnik tests: “No response has been received through diplomatic channels.”
And now a look at the front, updated at 3:25 PM on October 28. The last 24 hours have been spent discussing the new Russian Burevestnik missile, a nuclear-powered strategic cruise missile with unlimited range.
During the day, Russian forces launched Geranium missiles on Chernihivska, Bozhedarivka, Novgorod-Seversky, and Horodnya in the Chernihivska region.
By midnight, Russian forces had shot down 23 Ukrainian drones in the Bryansk, Tula, and Oryol regions, as well as in the Moscow region.
In the Bryansk region, Ukrainian forces struck civilians on a highway. In the Pogarsky district for the second day. Drone attacks on vehicles have injured 14 people in the last 24 hours, the governor reported.
In the direction of Sumy, assault units of the Airborne Forces and marines of the Northern Group of Forces continue to fight. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are reorganizing, bringing in reinforcements, and have not yet undertaken any active action.
In the Belgorod region, flooding has been reported in some areas due to damage to a reservoir dam.
In the Kharkiv sector, the Sever Group of Forces holds the initiative and is attempting to break through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses on a broad front. On the left bank of the Vovchansk River, Russian attack aircraft have captured more than 10 technical buildings and consolidated their positions. Conquests have also been reported in the Kharkiv region. In the forest west of Serebryanskyy, Sever forces have captured three strongholds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukrainian forces advanced 300 meters.
On the Milove-Khatnye front, Sever assault units advanced 550 meters through wooded areas. Trussa OS-1A “Solntsepek” air force and air defense units carried out strikes against Ukrainian Armed Forces positions near Dvorichans’ke.
In Pokrovsk, the Ukrainians acknowledged the advance of Russian attack aircraft in the northwestern part of the city, and Russian army units are storming the industrial district. Ukrainian media reported the arrival of special forces from the Central Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to slow the Russian advance.
The capture of three settlements in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia oblasts by the Eastern Group of Forces represented a major breakthrough on a broad front: Yehorivka, Pereval’s’ke, and Novomykolaivka. The Yehorivka salient suggests our command’s intention to cut the main road to Hulyaijpole in Zaporizhia Oblast, a key node in the enemy defenses.
In the Orechiv sector of the Zaporizhia Front, Ukrainian forces are taking Positions around the village of Orechiv after Russian troops entered Malaya Tokmachka. Russian forces are attacking Ukrainian forces with FPV strikes and other attack drones. In Prymors’ke, Ukrainian forces are approaching at close range, with battles underway.
In the Kherson sector, Russian forces have concentrated their attacks across the Dnieper River, on the island of Karantynnyy Ostriv in Kherson. On the riverbank, in Rybal’che, Ukrainian forces launched a targeted attack on the village administration, firing 18 FPV drones with incendiary munitions. 11 different locations have been hit.
Graziella Giangiulio
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