Russia says captured three more east Ukrainian villages

An honor guard carries the coffin of Ruslan Zhygunov, a Ukrainian serviceman, who was killed at the frontline near Rusyn Yar village, during his funeral ceremony in Hostomel, Ukraine. (AP)
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Updated 23 November 2025
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Russia says captured three more east Ukrainian villages

  • Kyiv has been scrambling to hold on to key strongholds on the eastern front, where Russian soldiers have been steadily gaining ground

MOSCOW: Russia on Sunday said it had captured three more villages in eastern Ukraine as US, Ukrainian and European officials gathered in Geneva to discuss a controversial plan to end the war.
Moscow’s defense ministry said troops had seized Petrivske in the Donetsk region, as well as Tikhe and Otradne in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Kyiv has been scrambling to hold on to key strongholds on the eastern front, where Russian soldiers have been steadily gaining ground.
Russia’s latest advances came ahead of talks in Geneva to discuss US President Donald Trump’s plan to end the nearly four-year war.
Trump has given Ukraine until November 27 to approve the proposal, but Kyiv is seeking changes to a draft that accepts some of Russia’s hard-line demands.
The 28-point plan would require the invaded country to cede territory, cut its army, and pledge never to join NATO.
It also offers Western security guarantees to Kyiv to prevent further Russian attacks.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has welcomed the proposal, saying it could “lay the foundation” for a final peace settlement, but threatened more land seizures if Ukraine walked away from negotiations.


Sweden intercepts suspected Russian drone during visit by French aircraft carrier

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Sweden intercepts suspected Russian drone during visit by French aircraft carrier

  • Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Oresund
  • Kremlin says ‘absurd’ to suggest drone jammed near French aircraft carrier is Russian
STOCKHOLM: The Swedish military has intercepted a suspected Russian drone off the south of the country as a French aircraft carrier was docked in the port of Malmo, officials say.
Kremlin said it was ‘absurd’ to suggest drone jammed near French aircraft carrier was Russian.
The armed forces said on Thursday that a Swedish naval ship observed the suspected drone during a patrol in the Oresund, the strait that divides Sweden from Denmark.
They said that unspecified countermeasures were taken to disrupt the drone, and that contact with the drone was then lost.
The French nuclear-powered aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is in the southern Swedish city of Malmo this week as part of regular NATO exercise activities. Malmo is located on the Oresund, opposite the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
French military spokesperson Guillaume Vernet said that the drone was detected on Wednesday and handled by Swedish forces integrated into a security system around the carrier. He said Friday that the drone was more than 10 kilometers from the Charles de Gaulle.
“This system showed it is robust, and this event had no impact on the activity of the aircraft carrier battle group,” Vernet said.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told public broadcaster SVT Thursday evening that the suspected violation of Swedish airspace by a drone happened in connection with a Russian military ship being in Swedish territorial waters. Asked what country he thinks the drone belongs to, he replied: “Probably Russia.”
The Russian ship continued into the Baltic Sea, and Swedish authorities have been in close contact with Denmark about the incident, Jonson said. The armed forces said no further drones were observed.
Western officials say Russia is masterminding a campaign of sabotage and disruption across Europe. An Associated Press database has documented well over 100 incidents.
Not all incidents are public and it can sometimes take officials months to establish a link to Moscow. While officials say the campaign — waged since President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 — aims to deprive Kyiv of support, they believe Moscow is also trying to identify Europe’s weak spots and suck up law enforcement resources.