Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky condemns Moscow’s ‘insane’ attack on school that left at least 40 dead

Russia’s Ryazan oil refinery was reportedly targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, with social media footage appearing to show explosions and a large fire near the facility.

The refinery, operated by state-owned Rosneft, is one of Russia’s largest, with an annual crude processing capacity of around 17 million tonnes.

Neither the damage nor the footage could be independently verified, and Russian authorities had not confirmed the strike.

The facility has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones, including a 15 October attack that reportedly forced one of its main crude distillation units to suspend operations, The Kyiv Independent reported.

Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy system on Tuesday triggered Kyiv’s most severe water outage of the war, sources have told the Kyiv Independent.

Residents in the capital were left without water for more than 24 hours. In the city centre some restaurants had to close their toilets to customers.

“This is the most serious water outage in Kyiv since the war began. It is also expected that the situation will worsen in the winter,” Mykhailo Yatsuk, director of the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation, told the website.

Thousands of European troops are due to take part in a military exercise in Poland this month to prepare for a hypothetical postwar mission in Ukraine to boost the country’s economy and rebuild its armed forces.

The force’s first military exercise, led by Britain and France, is aimed both at testing deployment plans and sending a message to Russia and the Trump administration that European countries are stepping up militarily.

But the mission is plagued with challenges, including the war, questions over American support and the outcome of the forthcoming French elections.

Britain and France are both part of a wider political group of 37 nations supporting Ukraine known as the Coalition of the Willing.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly said that in the event of a peace deal, there must be strong security guarantees from Kyiv’s Western allies, including the United States, to deter Russian leader Vladimir Putin from attacking the country again.

The presidential decree, dated November 2, cited her “significant personal contribution” to humanitarian support for Ukraine and her work to help Ukrainian children, including those deported or forcibly moved from Russian-occupied territory.

The Order of Princess Olga, 1st class honours women who have made exceptional contributions in spheres including science, education, culture and charitable work.

Volodymyr Zelensky has had a “very detailed” discussion with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as he prepares for a trilateral meeting with Russia next week.

It follows a meeting with the US, UK and other nations earlier today on postwar recovery for Ukriane.

The Ukrainian president said another meeting will take place in Brussels tomorrow on security guarantees for Ukraine.

“The negotiations must move forward at full throttle to bring this war to an end as quickly as possible. Ukraine is ready to take the necessary steps. Our proposals are clear, and we have given them to the American side,” he said.

“Our proposals are clear, and we have given them to the American side. Air defence is an important priority, and we discussed this as well. We need interceptors for Patriot systems to protect lives from Russian attacks. We must also continue working on each of the bilateral tracks with America.”

Three people have been killed in an Ukrainian drone attack on Russia’s border Belgorod region on Wednesday, authorities have said.

The region’s general headquarters ‌said three members of the same family, including an eight-year-old child, were killed after a drone struck a minibus.

Belgorod ‌region ​is ‌a frequent ⁠target of ⁠Ukrainian forces.