This is Jared Goyette, reporting in Kyiv on this foggy November day. Here is our top story from the front so far:
Ukrainian forces are holding defensive lines in the northern part of Pokrovsk and still control positions south of a key railway line, the 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces said on Nov. 21. The unit said Russian troops are trying to cross the railway line but had been stopped by Ukrainian forces.
The claim comes as the Ukrainian mapping and analytical site DeepState reports that Russian forces have crossed the same railway line.
According to the corps, Russia has sent in reserves after suffering losses, while Ukraine is increasing its forces in the area, including the number of drone crews, and focusing on blocking Russian logistical routes to the city.
The corps added that clearing operations against Russian infantry are nearing completion on the northern outskirts of nearby Myrnohrad, and that small Russian groups that tried to infiltrate Hryshyne, northwest of Pokrovsk, were “eliminated.”
Updated at 5:19 p.m
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency released a video it says shows special forces striking a Russian helicopter and several air defense assets in occupied Crimea, inflicting “serious losses” on Russian forces.
The Defense Intelligence of Ukraine (HUR) said the operation was carried out by its “Phantoms” unit on the Russian-occupied peninsula.
According to HUR, the targets hit included a shipborne Ka-27 multifunctional helicopter, a Lyra-A10 airfield radar complex, a 55Zh6U “Nebo-U” radar station, a “Nebo-SV” radar in a dome structure, and a P-18 “Terek” radar station.
HUR said the footage also shows a Ukrainian drone evading a missile fired from a Russian Pantsir-S1 air defense system.
The claims could not be independently verified.
US threatening to cut intelligence, weapons to pressure Ukraine into new peace deal, Reuters reports
Updated at 2:05 p.m. Kyiv time
The U.S. has ramped up pressure on Ukraine, warning it may scale back intelligence and weapons support unless Kyiv agrees to enter U.S.-brokered peace talks with Moscow, Reuters reported on Nov. 21, citing its undisclosed sources.
The report comes as media outlets obtained what is said to be the full text of the Trump administration’s so-called “peace plan,” which would require Ukraine to end the war on terms widely seen as unfavorable.
Washington is pushing Kyiv to approve the framework of the deal by Nov. 27, coinciding with the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, one of the sources told Reuters.
US threatening to cut intelligence, weapons to pressure Ukraine into new peace deal, Reuters reports
Rescuers recover 3 more bodies in Ternopil, including 2 children
Updated at 1:15 pm Kyiv time
Search and rescue crews at the site of a Russian strike in Ternopil, which hit two residential high-rise buildings overnight on Nov. 19, recovered three more bodies from the rubble, including two children, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service said on Nov. 21.
The death toll now stands at 31 people, with 94 injured, and 13 still missing, the agency said.
The two buildings were damaged from the third to the ninth floor, according to Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
Residents tried to leap from upper-floor windows to escape the fire after the Russian strike on the building, Klymenko said. The fire reportedly killed 19 people.
The Air Force later confirmed that Russia carried out the attack using Kh-101 cruise missiles. Search and rescue operations are ongoing.
Updated at 1:05 p.m. Kyiv time
Russian attacks have killed at least eight people and injured at least 29 others over the past day, local authorities said on Nov. 21.
Russia launched 115 drones at Ukraine overnight, of which 95 were intercepted, the Air Force reported, adding 19 hits were recorded at 12 locations.
Russian forces launched an overnight attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Nov. 20-21, killing five people and wounding eight others, local officials said.
Regional Governor Ivan Fedorov reported that Russian forces used KAB guided bombs, causing extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, including at least five high-rise apartment buildings. The national police also reported that the bomb was dropped in the middle of a market.
In eastern Donetsk Oblast, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said that at least four people were injured by Russian attacks over the past day.
In northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said that a 68-year-old woman was injured by a Russian attack over the past day.
In northeastern Sumy Oblast, the regional military administration reported that a Russian drone attack wounded a 45-year-old woman.
In northern Chernihiv Oblast, a woman was killed by a Russian attack, the State Emergency Service said on Nov. 21.
In central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, regional governor Vladyslav Haivanenko said that a woman was killed and two people, aged 54 and 71, were injured by Russian attacks over the past day.
In southern Kherson Oblast, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that one person was killed and eight others, including a child, were wounded by Russian attacks over the past day.
In southern Odesa Oblast, the State Emergency Service reported that five people, including a child, were wounded by an overnight Russian drone strike.
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,163,170 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022
Russia has lost around 1,163,170 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 Nov. 21.
The number includes 1,050 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.According to the report, Russia has also lost 11,357 tanks, 23,600 (+3) armored fighting vehicles, 67,768 (+65) vehicles and fuel tanks, 34,550 (+20) artillery systems, 1,546 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,247 air defense systems, 428 airplanes, 347 helicopters, 82,620 (+150) drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.