As the war in Ukraine grinds through its fourth year, the past week has brought a brutal escalation of violence and a flurry of diplomatic activity, with both tragedy and high-stakes negotiations unfolding across Europe. On November 17, 2025, Russian missile and drone attacks pummeled eastern Ukraine, leaving devastation in their wake, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sought to rally international support and revive stalled peace talks.
According to Reuters, the city of Balakliia in the Kharkiv region was rocked by a Russian missile strike that killed three people and wounded ten others, including three teenagers. The attack tore through multi-storey residential buildings and destroyed numerous cars in the city center. Regional governor Oleh Synehubov described the aftermath on Telegram, sharing images of blown-out windows and flames licking at upper floors, with debris and broken tree branches scattered across the area. Vitali Karabanov, head of Balakliia's military administration, confirmed that nine of the injured were admitted to hospital, while Moscow made no immediate comment on the attack.
The violence did not end there. As reported by Sky News, overnight Russian strikes across Ukraine left six people dead and caused extensive damage. In Kharkiv, a 17-year-old girl was wounded in a missile strike and later died in hospital; nine others were injured. The city of Izyum and other parts of the Kharkiv region were left without power overnight after further Russian attacks, which also injured a 14-year-old. These relentless assaults have become tragically routine, with Russia regularly launching missile, drone, and artillery strikes on Ukraine's second-largest city, destroying homes, severing power links, and subjecting residents to constant air-raid alerts.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's air force reported that Moscow fired four missiles from the Rostov and Voronezh regions and unleashed 114 drones overnight, targeting 15 separate locations across the country. Preliminary data indicated that Ukrainian forces managed to shoot down 101 drones, but strikes from all four missiles and 13 drones still landed, causing further destruction.
One of the most alarming incidents occurred in the Dnipropetrovsk region, where Russian drones damaged the building housing Ukraine's nationwide public broadcaster Suspilne and Ukrainian Radio Dnipro. Images shared by Suspilne revealed smashed windows and gaping holes in the sides of the building, underscoring the war's impact not just on military targets but also on the nation's vital infrastructure and information networks.
Ukraine, for its part, has stepped up its own long-range strikes. An overnight attack on November 17-18 damaged two thermal power plants—Zuivska and Starobesheve—in Russian-occupied Donetsk, leaving many settlements without electricity. Denis Pushilin, a Moscow-installed official, stated that boiler houses and water filtration plants at the sites had shut down and that emergency crews were scrambling to restore supplies. The previous day, Ukrainian drone attacks on energy infrastructure had left roughly 500,000 people without power across several districts, part of Kyiv's ongoing effort to disrupt Russian military logistics and undermine Moscow's war effort.
As the violence raged, President Zelenskyy was on the move, seeking to galvanize international support and push for an end to the conflict. On November 17, he held meetings in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, as reported by the Associated Press. The two leaders discussed military cooperation, and Zelenskyy signed a "historic" letter of intent to buy 100 Rafale fighter jets from France, a major boost to Ukraine's air capabilities. France, long one of Ukraine's staunchest allies, continues to co-lead the international coalition backing Kyiv.
After his stop in France, Zelenskyy was scheduled to travel to Spain before heading to Turkey, where he planned to "reinvigorate negotiations" to end the war. "Doing everything possible to bring the end of the war closer is Ukraine’s top priority," Zelenskyy declared, adding that his team had "developed solutions that we will propose to our partners." He also emphasized the need to resume prisoner exchanges with Moscow, signaling a willingness to engage in practical steps toward de-escalation.
The diplomatic push in Turkey is set to include Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, according to a Turkish source cited by Reuters. Witkoff, who has led Washington's diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine and previously helped broker the Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, is expected to join Zelenskyy for high-level talks. Witkoff recently remarked that securing peace deals "is becoming infectious" for him, raising hopes that renewed negotiations might yield results.
Yet, even as diplomatic channels flicker with activity, fresh dangers loom elsewhere in Europe. Poland, a key supporter of Ukraine, was rocked by sabotage attacks on its railways on November 16-17. An explosion on the Warsaw-Lublin line and damage to overhead electrical cables on the Swinoujscie to Rzeszow route forced trains to halt, though, fortunately, no injuries were reported. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the explosion an "act of sabotage," and the government suggested that foreign intelligence agencies—though unnamed—were likely behind the incidents. The attacks highlight the broader risks of spillover and hybrid warfare as the conflict drags on.
On the battlefield, Russia's defense ministry claimed to have captured at least five settlements across the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, and Kharkiv regions. However, these claims have been met with skepticism from some pro-Russian war bloggers, reflecting the fog of war and the challenges of verifying battlefield developments.
Elsewhere, the war's economic consequences continue to ripple outward. Iraq's government is reportedly considering seeking a six-month sanctions waiver from the U.S. following restrictions on Russian oil giant Lukoil. The move would allow Lukoil more time to sell its stake in the West Qurna-2 oilfield, with two Western companies and a Chinese firm expressing interest in a potential purchase, according to Iraqi sources cited by Reuters. The Iraqi oil ministry, however, has ruled out a state buyout, arguing the stake is too large for its own companies to manage.
As the world watches, the stakes remain painfully high for Ukrainian civilians. The repeated targeting of residential areas, power plants, and media outlets has left thousands dead and millions more living under the constant threat of attack. Both sides continue to deny targeting civilians, yet the toll is unmistakable: shattered homes, darkened cities, and families mourning lost loved ones. The international community is left to hope that the coming days—marked by new negotiations and diplomatic overtures—might finally bring some measure of relief to a war-weary nation.
For now, Ukraine’s struggle continues, both on the battlefield and in the halls of diplomacy, as leaders and citizens alike seek an elusive peace.