Ukrainian forces on Nov. 11 regained control of the village of Topoli in Kharkiv Oblast and raised the national flag on video, the State Border Service reported.
"We are always ready to defend our lands and destroy our enemies," the Steel Border unit said .
During the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022, the village was captured early in the war by Russian forces, and had remained occupied by Moscow.
Kharkiv Oblast has been a constant target of Russian strikes.
On Oct. 5, Russian forces hit a grocery store and a cafe in the village of Hroza, located some 86 kilometers east of Kharkiv, killing 51 peopleand injuring six, including children.
Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.
"The president will give me a lot of space and discretion to get to the deal," U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov in a recorded phone call obtained by Bloomberg.
VNIIR-Progress is a Russian state institute involved in designing electronic warfare systems, including the Kometa antenna used to interfere with satellite, radio, and radar signals.
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Nov. 25 that there is no specific deadline for Ukraine to accept the initially drafted 28-point proposal, easing previous statements that implied he hoped for a Thanksgiving agreement. "The deadline for me is when it’s over," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
"The absolute condition for a good peace is a set of very robust security guarantees and not paper guarantees. Ukraine has had its share of promises that were shattered by successive Russian aggressions, and real rock-solid guarantees are a necessity," French President Emmanuel Macron said.
The arrests of NABU detectives in July were seen by critics as part of a crackdown on the bureau triggered by its investigations against Zelensky's top allies.
"The original 28-Point Peace Plan, which was drafted by the United States, has been fine-tuned, with additional input from both sides, and there are only a few remaining points of disagreement," U.S. President Donald Trump said.
Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Il-76 heavy transport aircraft as well as an experimental A-60 airborne laser complex, according to Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, on Nov. 25.
"We look forward to organizing a visit of Ukraine's president to the U.S. at the earliest suitable date in November to complete final steps and make a deal with President (Donald) Trump," said Rustem Umerov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.
U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll traveled to Abu Dhabi on Nov. 24 for negotiations with Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine's military intelligence chief, and a Russian delegation, Driscoll's spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Tolbert, confirmed to Axios.
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Independent, under fire — and unstoppable with you on board
Independent journalism is never easy, and it’s even harder in wartime. Yet we can do it without paywalls, billionaires, or compromise — because of our community. Help us reach 25,000 members by the end of 2025.
Nate Ostiller
