On day 1,368 of Russia’s war on Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and First Lady Olena Zelenska visited a Holodomor memorial in Kyiv during ceremonies marking the 1932–33 famine.
Diplomacy: talks in Geneva and Trump’s 28-point plan
Officials from Ukraine, the United States and the European Union are set to meet in Geneva to discuss a 28-point peace proposal put forward by US President Donald Trump. Trump, who had initially urged Ukraine to accept the plan by Thursday, told reporters the draft is not his final offer and signalled continued pursuit of a negotiated end to the war: “We’d like to get to peace. One way or another, we’ll get it ended.”
Zelenskyy signed a decree approving Ukraine’s delegation to the talks and said Kyiv’s representatives know how to defend the country’s national interests and prevent further aggression, adding that Russia’s “crimes” should not be “rewarded.” European and Western leaders said the draft requires “additional work,” and pushed back on elements they viewed as unacceptable, including any forced cession of territory or restrictions on the size of Ukraine’s armed forces. “We are clear on the principle that borders must not be changed by force,” they said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz emphasised that Ukraine must be involved in deciding its fate: “Wars cannot be ended by major powers over the heads of the countries affected.” Leaders of eight Nordic-Baltic states issued a separate statement reiterating continued support for Ukraine, including ongoing military assistance. In Washington, the proposal faced resistance from Democrats and some Republican hawks; Senator Angus King called it one of the worst “geopolitical mistakes” he has ever seen.
Fighting and casualties
Russian forces carried out more than 60 strikes on Nikopol district in Dnipropetrovsk region, killing at least one person and wounding five, local officials said. A strike on a store in Zaporizhia wounded five people, and Russian shelling in Kherson killed three people, including two women.
Ukraine’s State Emergency Service concluded its search-and-rescue operation after the missile attack on Ternopil on November 19. The agency reported a final death toll of 33 people, including six children, and 94 wounded.
On the ground, Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed capture of two villages — Zvanivka in Donetsk and Nove Zaporizhzhia in Zaporizhia. Kyiv Independent cited the Finnish open-intelligence collective Black Bird Group reporting that Russian forces appear to have seized more than 15 villages in Zaporizhia.
Heavy fighting continued around Pokrovsk in Donetsk. Russian state news agency TASS reported that Russian troops had “encircled Ukrainian units” in several neighbourhoods, while the Ukrainian military said enemy attempts to reach the town centre had failed and that Ukrainian forces were holding designated defensive lines in northern Pokrovsk.
Situation snapshot
Negotiations in Geneva are expected to test whether the draft plan can be revised into an agreement acceptable to Ukraine and its Western partners. Meanwhile, intense fighting and strikes across multiple regions continue to cause civilian casualties and territorial shifts claimed by Russian authorities, with Ukrainian forces reporting continued resistance in key contested areas.