Russian ballistic missile hit Dnipro industrial area: four dead and 40 injured

A Russian ballistic missile struck an industrial area in Dnipro in broad daylight on December 1, killing four people and injuring 40, local authorities reported.

The strike occurred at 10:14 a.m., about four minutes after the Air Force warned of a possible ballistic missile launch from Taganrog, Russia.

The missile hit a car service station and nearby businesses where employees were already at work. According to the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration, 40 people were injured, most of them hospitalized, and 11 are in serious condition. Search and rescue operations have been completed.

Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth largest city with a pre-war population of 968,000, continues to suffer from regular Russian missile and drone attacks due to its proximity to Ukraine's front-line regions, lying about 130 kilometers (80 miles) from the nearest active fighting.

Four people injured in Russian strike on Kramatorsk

Russian forces shelled residential areas of Kramatorsk in Donetsk Oblast on December 1, injuring four people. The strike hit an apartment building. Emergency services are working at the scene, and information is still being clarified. The injured include two men aged 74 and 71, and two women aged 78 and 73.

Filashkin once again urged residents of Donetsk Oblast to evacuate to safer regions.

Russian forces launched record assaults in November and captured nearly twice the territory as in September

Russian forces seized 505 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory in November, with 40% of all gains concentrated near Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to the Ukrainian military analysis group DeepState.

DeepState noted that November was “another difficult month,” similar to last year, with Russian troops pushing forward in several sectors. The largest advance was near Huliaipole, while the stretch from Huliaipole to Horikhove accounted for another 16% of assault activity.

The situation remains especially challenging on the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad axis, which saw 32.5% of all Russian attacks. Russian forces captured 35 sq km around Pokrovsk and 21.5 sq km near Myrnohrad — 56.5 sq km in total, or 11% of all November gains.

For comparison, Russian troops seized 259 sq km in September and 267 sq km in October.

In November, Russia carried out 5,990 assault operations — the highest number this year and second only to last December.

DeepState also reported new Russian advances near Rivnopillia and Huliaipole as of December 1.

Why the proposed peace plan is unlikely to end Russia's war in Ukraine

As US President Donald Trump ramps up diplomatic efforts to broker an end to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a growing number of international experts are sounding alarms that his approach is doomed to stumble. The urgency stems from a recent flow of engagements, including the US special envoy Steve Witkoff's scheduled Moscow visit on December 2, 2025, following tense USA-Ukraine discussions in Florida just yesterday and talks in Geneva earlier. Yet, with Russian President Vladimir Putin doubling down on November 27 by insisting on Ukrainian territorial concessions as a ceasefire precondition, and Kyiv firmly upholding its non-negotiables—no limits on alliances, military strength, or occupied lands—the way to resolution is looking increasingly narrow.

At its core, Trump's strategy echoes a Russian blueprint from October 2025, prioritizing Moscow's territorial claims in Crimea and Donbas alongside with no future in NATO for Ukraine, which Ukrainian officials have decried as a blueprint for surrender without reciprocal Russian retreats.

Experts and analysts across think tanks paint a gloomy picture, attributing the dead end to Russia's battlefield momentum and lack of genuine leverage from Washington.

Jenny Mathers, an international politics specialist, argues that true breakthroughs demand a serious and prolonged setback for Moscow, potentially through eroded ally support, rather than cosmetic talks.

Oleksiy Melnyk from the Razumkov Center labels the U.S. proposal a "capitulation aid kit," noting Putin's zero appetite for compromise amid pricy but incremental gains—like 505 square kilometers seized in November alone, according to DeepState maps.

Mykola Bielieskov of Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies The Trump team is criticized for its "strategy vacuum," with warnings that without sanctions on Russia's oil patrons, such as China and India, Putin has every incentive to prolong the attrition war. Battlefield realities underscore this: fog-shrouded advances have Russian forces dominating Pokrovsk in Donetsk and eyeing Zaporizhzhia's Huliaipole, while Ukraine faces troop shortages and fading Western arms flows.

As Witkoff's trip looms, analysts like Natia Seskuria from the Royal United Services Institute foresee "perpetual haggling" at best—a diplomatic charade that buys Putin time to grind toward victory by late 2027,( per Institute for the Study of War projections,) absent a seismic shift in dynamics. For Kyiv, the stakes couldn't be higher: yielding now risks unraveling not just territory, but the very sovereignty Trump once advocated.

Netherlands announces $290 million Ukraine aid package

The Netherlands has pledged €250 million ($290 million) to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL), the Dutch Defense Ministry announced on Dec. 1.

PURL, created earlier this year, allows NATO allies to purchase advanced U.S. arms specifically for Kyiv. With this latest package, the Netherlands will buy drones, F-16 missiles, and air defense ammunition and equipment for Ukraine.

The Netherlands was the first country to use the PURL system back in August. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Ukraine is expected to receive up to $5 billion in weapons through PURL by the end of the year.

Dutch Defense Minister Ruben Brekelmans also signed an agreement with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on joint drone production in both countries.

The Netherlands has additionally supplied Ukraine with 24 F-16 fighter jets, completing delivery by May 2025.

Witkoff us expected in Moscow on Tuesday

The Kremlin has confirmed that Vladimir Putin will meet Steve Witkoff, the Special Envoy of the USA President, on Tuesday, 2 December.

According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the meeting is set for the second half of the day and will focus on discussing potential parameters for a peace agreement to end the Russo–Ukrainian war.

Peskov added that Putin is holding several non-public preparatory meetings ahead of these Russian–American contacts.