As the harsh winter of 2025 descends on Ukraine, the conflict with Russia has entered a new and perilous phase, marked by intensified attacks on civilian infrastructure, dramatic naval skirmishes, and high-stakes battles for control of key eastern cities. The latest developments paint a grim picture of a war that shows no sign of abating, with both sides adapting their strategies in a struggle that has already left much of the country battered and millions of lives upended.
On November 5, 2025, Russian forces unleashed a fresh wave of drone and artillery strikes on Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, targeting not only military positions but also residential neighborhoods and critical infrastructure. According to Ukrainian officials, Shahed-type drones rained down on areas near Kherson city, injuring at least 14 civilians and plunging five districts into darkness. The resulting power outages disrupted hospitals and schools, compounding the misery for residents already bracing for another winter without reliable heat or electricity.
“Russia is deliberately striking civilian infrastructure to break morale,” Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin told reporters, as quoted by local outlets. The scale of the destruction has been confirmed by satellite imagery reviewed by Maxar Technologies, which reveals cratered residential blocks and scorched energy facilities stretching across southern Kherson and the Dnipro River corridor. Military analysts note that this pattern aligns with Russia’s evolving winter strategy, which appears focused on undermining Ukraine’s resilience by targeting its power grids, logistical hubs, and population centers.
For those on the ground, the nightly attacks have become a source of relentless terror. “Every night brings new terror,” said Kateryna Holub, a Kherson resident, in a statement to emergency services. “We live without power, heat, or safety.” Local emergency teams continue to work around the clock, rescuing the injured and restoring basic services, but the threat of renewed barrages hangs over the region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video address to European and NATO partners, issued an urgent plea for more air defense systems, drones, and ammunition. “We need speed — not sympathy. Russia’s winter war begins now,” Zelenskyy warned, emphasizing that delays in Western support could “cost thousands of lives this winter.” While Western allies have pledged to maintain their support, logistical hurdles and political disagreements in Washington and Brussels threaten to slow the delivery of much-needed aid.
Russia, for its part, has denied targeting civilians. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its overnight strikes were aimed at “military warehouses and energy depots” in southern Ukraine. However, footage and eyewitness accounts from the ground contradict this narrative, showing extensive damage to apartment towers, schools, and civilian shelters. The U.S. State Department has condemned Russia’s actions as “a renewed campaign of terror,” while the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has appealed for urgent funding to assist more than 1.2 million residents in southern Ukraine who now lack stable access to heat and power.
The humanitarian crisis is deepening as temperatures plummet across the country. The sharp cold is complicating evacuation efforts and making it even harder to restore damaged electricity infrastructure. Aid agencies warn that the coming months could bring widespread suffering unless international support is ramped up quickly. Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign ministers have convened in Brussels to coordinate a new aid package focused on bolstering air defenses and restoring power grids. Neighboring Poland and the Baltic states have increased surveillance along their borders, fearing that the conflict could spill over.
While Kherson reels from bombardment, Ukraine’s navy has mounted a bold counterattack in the Black Sea. On November 5, Ukrainian naval forces struck what they described as an “elite” Russian special unit stationed on the Syvash drilling rig near Russian-occupied Crimea. According to a statement posted on Telegram by Ukraine’s naval forces, the strike killed an enemy anti-tank missile crew and destroyed Russian technical reconnaissance and observation equipment at the site. The navy claimed, “In addition to the Russian occupiers’ technical reconnaissance and observation equipment, an enemy anti-tank missile system crew was destroyed.”
The skirmish quickly became the subject of dueling propaganda. Russia released a video purporting to show the destruction of a Ukrainian naval boat by a Lancet drone, but Ukrainian officials countered that the footage actually depicted their own successful deployment of a kamikaze drone. “Trying to pass off another defeat as a victory, the Russians are spreading a video allegedly showing the destruction of a Ukrainian navy boat by a ‘Lancet’ munition, while in reality, we successfully used a kamikaze drone,” Ukraine’s naval statement asserted. The exchange highlights the information war running parallel to the physical conflict, with each side eager to shape perceptions at home and abroad.
On land, the situation in the eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Kupiansk has grown increasingly dire. Russian authorities claimed on November 5 that Ukrainian troops in both cities were encircled and urged them to surrender, insisting that “their position was deteriorating rapidly” and that there was “no chance for Ukrainian servicemen to save themselves other than by voluntary surrender.” Russia has been attempting to capture Pokrovsk—dubbed “the gateway to Donetsk”—since 2024 as part of its broader effort to seize the entire Donbas region. Despite these advances, Ukrainian forces still control about 10% of Donbas, or roughly 5,000 square kilometers.
According to battlefield maps and reports analyzed by multiple outlets, Russian forces are now just a few kilometers away from fully encircling Pokrovsk, known in Russia as Krasnoarmeysk, and have gained control of significant portions of Kupiansk, advancing along the main road to the city. Russia’s strategy in these offensives has shifted from frontal assaults to more sophisticated pincer movements, employing small, highly-mobile units and drones to disrupt Ukrainian logistics and sow confusion behind the front lines. This approach has created what Russian military bloggers call a “grey zone of ambiguity,” where neither side has full control, but the area remains extremely difficult for Ukraine to defend.
Russia’s defense ministry directly contradicted President Zelenskyy’s earlier statement that Ukrainian forces were attempting to clear what he described as a small Russian contingent in Kupiansk. Instead, Moscow insists that Ukrainian units are trapped in “cauldrons,” with their situation growing more desperate by the day. The broader picture is sobering: nearly four years into Europe’s deadliest war since World War II, Russia claims to control more than 19% of Ukraine—about 116,000 square kilometers—while pro-Ukrainian sources acknowledge that Russian forces have captured more than 3,400 square kilometers of territory in 2025 alone.
As both armies dig in for a punishing winter, the fate of Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions hangs in the balance. Much will depend on the speed and scale of Western support, the resilience of Ukraine’s battered infrastructure, and the ability of its armed forces to adapt to Russia’s evolving tactics. For millions of Ukrainians, the coming months promise little respite from a war that has already exacted a staggering toll.
