Civilians in the Kharkiv region practiced basic military skills at a training ground on Saturday, November 15, 2025, as the conflict continues to affect everyday life across Ukraine.
Here is the situation on Sunday, November 16:
Fighting
– Ukraine reported a strike on the Ryazan oil refinery, about 200 km southeast of Moscow, saying the attack aimed to limit Russia’s capacity to launch missile and aerial strikes; Ukrainian officials reported multiple explosions and a large fire at the site.
– Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had taken control of the village of Yablukove in Zaporizhia region.
– Ukraine confirmed it had withdrawn from Novovasylivske in Zaporizhia to reposition troops to what it described as more favourable defensive positions.
– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Nataliia Khodemchuk, the widow of the first Chornobyl disaster victim, was among those killed in recent Russian strikes on Kyiv, calling it ‘a new tragedy caused once again by the Kremlin.’
– Russia’s RIA Novosti reported that conditions were stable at the Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after an external power line was switched off as a precaution.
– Russian state news agency TASS said Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on residential buildings in Volgograd, causing damage to facades and glazing.
– The Russian Defence Ministry reported shooting down eight Ukrainian drones over Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions and over Russian-occupied Crimea during a roughly four-hour period.
Politics and diplomacy
– Russia and Ukraine agreed to speed up a prisoner exchange that is expected to free about 1,200 Ukrainians, following several days of talks overseen by Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates; the deal revives elements of earlier negotiations held in Istanbul.
– President Zelenskyy pledged a ‘reboot’ of state-owned energy companies and promised reforms to tackle corruption amid an investigation into roughly $100 million allegedly embezzled from power firms.
– Polish President Karol Nawrocki signed a bill extending social assistance for Ukrainian refugees but warned it could be ‘the last time’ such aid is renewed without new solutions; about one million Ukrainians currently live in Poland and their legal status there is due to expire in March.
– Serbian officials said the United States will not lift sanctions on Serbian oil company NIS unless its majority Russian ownership is changed; Serbia has been given until February 13 to propose a solution.
Military aid
– After a wave of Russian strikes on Kyiv that killed at least seven people and injured dozens, President Zelenskyy called for more air-defence resources from partners, saying the attacks underscored the need for additional assistance and ‘greater resolve’ from allies.