Servicemen of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces explore a Javelin missile system near a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine November 15, 2025. Andriy Andriyenko/Press Service of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via… Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab Read more

MOSCOW, Nov 16 (Reuters) – Russia said on Sunday its forces had moved forward sharply in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, taking two settlements as part of a major push aimed at taking control of the entire Zaporizhzhia region.

With a smaller army than Russia’s, Ukraine has been grappling with how to bolster defences in the Donetsk region while keeping the rest of the front stable under intense artillery and drone attack from highly mobile Russian units.

Since advancing into the Dnipropetrovsk region in late June, Russian forces have been pushing there and in the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia region where they have moved forward along a relatively broad front by at least 30 km (19 miles) over the past six weeks, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had taken Rivnopillya, which puts the southern town of Huliaipole in danger of being the target of Russian pincer movements. It said Russian forces had also taken Mala Tokmachka, just 9 km (6 miles) from Orikhiv.

“It is difficult to overestimate the importance of this village for the defence of Orikhiv,” said Yuri Podolyaka, one of Russia’s top war bloggers, adding that Mala Tokmachka was essentially “the gateway to Orikhiv”.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. Ukraine’s top general said last week that fighting had worsened on parts of the Zaporizhzhia front including around the town of Huliaipole. Separately last week, Kyiv’s military said its troops had fallen back from several villages in the area.

Ukrainian soldiers and commanders say they do not have enough troops to hold many defensive positions, despite thousands of drones flying above the battlefield which make advances by either side costly.

Russia controls about 19% of Ukraine, or 115,476 square km, up just one percentage point from two years ago. Moscow wants to gain control of all of the Donbas, which includes Donetsk and Luhansk, as well as the whole of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Russia says it controls about 75% of the Zaporizhzhia region which means Ukraine still holds about 7,000 square km there, including the city of Zaporizhzhia, which had a pre-war population of over 700,000 people.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Suggested Topics:

Read Next

ago Aerospace & Defense category

ago Aerospace & Defense category

ago Aerospace & Defense category

ago Aerospace & Defense category

Shares of Samsung Electronics gained more than 3% at the market opening on Monday after the company pledged to invest 450 trillion won ($310.14 billion) in the country and add a chip production line in city of Pyeongtaek.

Site Index

About Reuters

Stay Informed

Information you can trust

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Read More