Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops near the front line in southern Zaporizhia on Thursday, as Ukraine’s military reported attacks on Russian-occupied oil facilities in the region and Crimea. The visit underscored Kyiv’s focus on morale amid intensified fighting and Russia’s accelerated advances.
“I listened to a report on the operational situation in this sector, enemy activity, and losses among the occupiers,” Zelenskyy said on X. “We are doing everything to strengthen our warriors.”
The Ukrainian general staff reported that its forces struck an oil terminal in Russian-annexed Crimea, along with an oil depot in occupied Zaporizhia. Domestically produced weapons, including Flamingo ground-launched cruise missiles and drones, were used in the attacks, the military said via Telegram.
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Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, at least three people were killed in a Russian drone strike near the village of Bohuslavka in Kharkiv region. Governor Oleh Syniehubov said two people were killed immediately, one died later in hospital, and another sustained injuries.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed that its forces had captured the village of Danylivka in Dnipropetrovsk region and Synelnykove in Kharkiv, as well as three other villages in the partially occupied south, asserting continued advances.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine will “sooner or later” have to return to negotiations with Moscow from a “much worse position,” following Kyiv’s suspension of peace talks earlier this week. “Since the peace talks ended this year without significant progress, they have been suspended,” Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya told The Times, noting Kyiv’s requests for a direct meeting between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been ignored.
In parallel, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged Zelenskyy to intensify Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts after a scandal involving the energy sector. The scheme allegedly siphoned $100 million in state funds, prompting the resignations of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers.
“The Ukrainian government must energetically advance anticorruption measures and further reforms, particularly in the area of the rule of law,” Merz told Zelenskyy in a phone call. Zelenskyy responded that he had ordered sanctions against an associate implicated in the scandal and promised “complete transparency” and long-term support for independent anti-corruption authorities.
The combined focus on frontline operations and domestic reform illustrates Kyiv’s dual priorities: sustaining military resilience and maintaining international support amid war and governance challenges.
