Russia's Defense Ministry announced on Friday that its troops have seized control of seven Ukrainian villages over the past week, marking continued advances in a conflict now in its 1,345th day.

According to the ministry, the Vostok (East) group of forces captured six settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk region, while the Zapad (West) group took one village in the Kharkiv region. The claims could not be independently verified, as access to frontline areas remains heavily restricted.

In a separate statement, Russian military officials reported conducting one massive and five coordinated high-precision strikes targeting Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. The attacks reportedly hit energy facilities, transport infrastructure, military airfields, arsenals, workshops producing Flamingo cruise missiles and long-range drones, as well as storage sites and temporary bases housing Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries.

Russia claimed its air defenses intercepted a significant Ukrainian counteroffensive in the skies: 17 guided aerial bombs, 10 U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets, two Neptune long-range missiles, and 1,701 aircraft-type drones were shot down over the week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the Russian barrage, describing it as a "mass strike" targeting various regions across the country. "Most of the shells and rockets were shot down," Zelenskyy said in a televised address, praising Ukraine’s air defense systems.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Russian forces have made incremental gains in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions in Donetsk Oblast, though at a high cost in personnel and equipment. Ukrainian sources acknowledge intense fighting near Vuhledar and in the Kharkiv border areas, where Russia has renewed localized offensives.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s General Staff reported repelling 127 Russian assaults in the past 24 hours, with the heaviest concentration along the Pokrovsk and Lyman axes. Kyiv also claimed to have destroyed 12 Russian tanks and 41 artillery systems in the same period.

The latest strikes come amid escalating attacks on critical infrastructure as winter approaches. Ukraine’s national grid operator, Ukrenergo, imposed emergency power outages in six regions following damage to energy facilities. The United Nations warned that continued targeting of civilian infrastructure could constitute war crimes.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte reiterated alliance support for Ukraine, announcing an additional €40 billion in military aid for 2026 during a meeting in Brussels on Thursday. The U.S. State Department confirmed the delivery of a new batch of ATACMS missiles to Kyiv, despite Russian warnings of escalation.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine verified 12 civilian deaths and 62 injuries from Russian attacks between October 24–30, primarily in Kherson, Dnipro, and Sumy oblasts. At least three children were among the wounded.

As both sides brace for a grueling winter campaign, diplomatic efforts remain stalled, with no active peace talks since the failed Istanbul round in spring 2022. (ILKHA)