Ukraine war latest: DeepState says Russia seized about 90% more territory in November than in October
Hello, this is Jared Goyette, reporting from Kyiv on day 1,377 of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While the international focus remains on Trump's peace deal negotiations , our focus in this blog is on updates from the front:
Our top story so far:
DeepState: Russia seized about 90% more territory in November than in October
Russian forces captured about 505 square kilometers (195 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in November, almost twice the gains recorded in September, the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState said in an assessment published Dec. 1.
DeepState said roughly 40% of those advances came in the area around Huliaipole, even though only 16% of recorded Russian assault operations took place on the stretch of front between Huliaipole and Hornyk.
The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell published an analysis of that section of the front in November:
“Unlike the raging battles around places like Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka, or Kupiansk — where Ukraine has deployed some of its top brigades and drone units, and where the situation, though difficult, remains under control, as Ukrainian military spokespeople often like to say — the defense of these “Wild Fields” further south is in an almost perpetual state of semi-chaos.
Poor coordination between units and the frequent need to pull back from combat positions have prevented Ukrainian forces from stabilizing their lines of defense.”
DeepState said the Ukrainian army had stabilized the front near Huliaipole on Nov. 27.
The project noted that the situation also remained difficult around Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, which together accounted for 32.5% of all Russian attacks in November.
Russian forces captured about 35 square kilometers (14 square miles) near and in Pokrovsk and about 21.5 square kilometers (8 square miles) around Mirnograd, for a total of 56.5 square kilometers (22 square miles), or roughly 11% of all territory gained that month, according to the project.
In total, DeepState said Russian troops carried out about 5,990 assault operations in November, the highest monthly figure this year and second only to last December since November 2023, the project said.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify DeepState’s figures.
Russian ballistic missile hits Dnipro industrial area, leaving four dead, 40 wounded
Updated 2:35 p.m. Kyiv time
A Russian ballistic missile struck Dnipro industrial area on Dec. 1, killing four people and injuring 40, local authorities said.
The explosion occurred at 10:14 a.m, about four minutes after Ukraine’s Air Force issued an alert about a potential ballistic missile launch from Taganrog, Russia.
The missile reportedly hit an industrial area, severely damaging a car service station and nearby businesses where people were already at work.
"Forty people were injured, the vast majority of them hospitalized. Sadly, 11 of the wounded are in serious condition. Search and rescue operations have been completed," the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration said in a statement on Telegram.
F-16 ammunition, air defenses — Netherlands announces $290 million Ukraine aid package
Updated at 12:02 p.m. Kyiv time
The Netherlands on Dec. 1 pledged to purchase U.S. arms for Kyiv worth 250 million euros ($290 million) under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL).
The PURL initiative, launched earlier this year, enables NATO allies to buy advanced U.S. weaponry for Ukraine.
With the latest package, the Netherlands is purchasing drones, missiles for F-16 fighter jets, and ammunition and equipment for air defense for Ukraine, the Dutch Defense Ministry announce
Ukraine rejects Kazakhstan's criticism over drone strike on Russian oil terminal
Updated at 5:31 p.m. Kyiv time
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on Dec. 1 that none of its actions target Kazakhstan or any other third country, responding to Astana's protest over a Nov. 29 drone strike that damaged the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's marine terminal in Russia's Novorossiysk.
Kazakhstan condemned the strike as an attack on "an exclusively civilian facility" and said it harmed bilateral relations.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said Kyiv acknowledged Kazakhstan's concerns but stressed that all Ukrainian operations focus on countering Russia's full-scale invasion.
"No actions by Ukraine are directed against Kazakhstan or other third parties — all of Ukraine's efforts are focused on repelling full-scale Russian aggression," the statement reads.
HUR reports explosions at rail, pipeline hub in Russia’s Novosibirsk, Bryansk oblasts
Updated 5:23 p.m. Kyiv time
Explosions on Nov. 20 and Nov. 28 damaged railway infrastructure in Russia’s Novosibirsk and Bryansk regions, a source in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known by its Ukrainian acronym HUR, told the Kyiv Independent.
According to the source, the first explosion took place on Nov. 20 near the settlement of Baryshovo in Novosibirsk Oblast, hitting a section of the West Siberian Railway. The blast reportedly disrupted freight traffic along the route
A second explosion was reported on Nov. 28 at the Unecha junction in Bryansk Oblast — a key node of the Moscow Railway on the Bryansk–Homel line, which is used to move fuel and military equipment toward Belarus. According to the source, a fuel train was hit in the incident.
HUR did not directly claim credit for the attacks, nor provide any additional details. The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
At least 6 killed, 24 injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine from Nov. 30 to Dec. 1
At least six people were killed and 24 others injured in Russian attacks on Ukraine from the evening of Nov. 30 to the morning of Dec. 1, according to authorities.
Ukraine’s Air Force said Dec. 1 that Russia launched 89 strike drones of various types, including Shahed-type drones, from several directions in Russia and occupied Crimea. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 63 of them, while 26 drones hit nine locations in northern, eastern, and southern Ukraine, the Air Force said on Telegram.
In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a Russian guided air bomb hit a residential area of Zaporizhzhia city at around 10 p.m. on Nov. 30, killing five people and injuring eight, Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram.
In Sumy Oblast, a Russian drone struck a civilian car in the Bilopillia community on the morning of Dec. 1, killing the 53-year-old driver and lightly injuring a passenger, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration said,
In Chernihiv Oblast, two civilian women were injured over the past day when Russian drones hit an energy facility in the town of Mena and a house in a village in the Desnianska community, Governor Vyacheslav Chaus said on Telegram.
In Kharkiv Oblast, four civilians were injured as Russian forces attacked five settlements over the past day, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram. Three women aged 67, 65 and 73 were injured in Bashylivka in the Blyzniuky community, and a 52-year-old man was injured in Ploske in the Velykyi Burluk community, he said.
In Kherson Oblast, nine people, including one child, were injured between 6 a.m. on Nov. 30 and 6 a.m. on Dec. 1 as Russian forces carried out drone, air, and artillery strikes on more than 30 settlements, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russian forces attacked Ternivka in the Pavlohrad district with drones at night and in the morning, sparking a fire and damaging infrastructure, acting Governor Vladyslav Haivanenko said on Telegram.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,173,920 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost about 1,173,920 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Dec. 1.
The figure includes 1,060 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day, according to the report.
According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,387 tanks, 23,678 armored fighting vehicles, 68,583 vehicles and fuel tanks, 34,754 artillery systems, 1,552 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,253 air defense systems, 430 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 86,090 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.
