Intense overnight attacks between Russia and Ukraine have left at least six people dead in Kyiv and three in Russia’s Rostov region, officials said on November 25, 2025. Russia launched missiles and drones into Ukraine, while Ukrainian forces struck deep into Russian territory in what both sides described as one of the deadliest exchanges in weeks. The attacks caused extensive damage to residential areas and critical infrastructure, with Kyiv officials reporting fires in several districts and widespread civilian casualties.
Amid the escalating violence, US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday to discuss a potential framework for ending the war. The meetings, which follow US-Ukraine talks in Geneva over the weekend, aim to lay the groundwork for higher-level negotiations. The discussions are taking place with the approval of President Vladimir Putin, a US official said, and are expected to continue into Tuesday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump is “hopeful and optimistic” that a deal could emerge, based on a revised peace proposal negotiated with input from both Russia and Ukraine.
The Ukrainian government has confirmed that Russian strikes included 22 missiles and over 460 drones, leaving 13 wounded and inflicting serious damage on Kyiv’s energy and residential infrastructure. Ukrainian drone units responded with a major counterattack, with military officials calling it Kyiv’s most “productive” night of November. Russian authorities reported intercepting 249 Ukrainian drones but admitted three deaths and eight injuries from the assaults. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that a new US-proposed peace plan has taken “proper considerations” into account, signaling cautious optimism for diplomatic progress even as the war continues to claim lives on both sides.
