Zelenskyy Says Ukraine Is Retaking Territory as Nordic Leaders Urge Putin to End War

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, 28 October, that Ukraine's forces are retaking territory through a series of offensives and that Kyiv's battlefield position is the strongest it has been in some time. The same day, Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere phoned Russian President Vladimir Putin to urge him to end the war. The call was an attempt to influence the diplomatic process after US President Donald Trump stunned allies by agreeing to buy Russian diesel, pushing ties with Ukraine to their lowest point in 18 months.

Situation at the front

Citing a report by senior commanders, Zelenskyy mentioned for the first time the "Veles" operation, which uses pipelines in Ukraine's northeast. He also referred to an air assault operation in the east and the "Vivaldi" operation further north, designed to stop Russian advances in key areas.

Strikes on Kyiv

A localised ceasefire appears to be holding in Ukraine's south. Meanwhile, overnight Russian strikes damaged a university campus and Kyiv's Southern Bridge, which Zelenskyy called "a serious escalation" against Ukrainian logistics. A Ukrainian military source told Reuters the bridge was hit by four Iskander ballistic missiles. Zelenskyy said energy facilities, logistics and infrastructure in 10 other regions were also attacked. Kyiv's mayor said the city plans to allocate 1 billion hryvnias ($22 million) to build water crossings over the Dnipro, which divides the capital in two.

Romania and the Black Sea

Romanian President Nicusor Dan called an alleged Russian sabotage plot a "grave violation" of the sovereignty and security of the Nato member. A day earlier, Romania's intelligence service said it had identified a Russia-coordinated "sabotage network" linked to a fire in Brasov County last month. Three foreign nationals, two Belarusians and one Ukrainian, are being investigated. Romania summoned Russia's ambassador, and the Russian embassy rejected the accusations as "baseless". France has temporarily relocated a maritime patrol aircraft to Romania to help identify navigation dangers in the Black Sea. At least eight cargo ships have been hit near the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts in the past three weeks, with about 34 sailors dead or missing.

Other developments

Poland will host a maintenance centre for the US-made Patriot air-defence system, the only one outside the US. Pope Leo XIV's chief almsgiver, Monsignor Luis Marín de San Martín, began a three-day visit to Ukraine, bringing winter clothes, blankets and food.