Russia-Ukraine war – live: Putin’s forces suffering major losses says Kyiv as fighting rages around key city
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Ukraine’s military says it is inflicting major losses on Russian troops as Vladimir Putin’s forces seek to try and encircle the key strategic city of Avdiivka in the east.
The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said soldiers are “standing their ground, inflicting major losses on the enemy” both around Avdiivka and along other areas of the eastern frontlines. "Our defenders are steadfastly holding the defence in the Avdiivka direction," Commander Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said.
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops face "difficult" defensive operations on parts of the eastern front with bitter winter cold setting in. Images from the frontline in Donbas, as well as in Kyiv, show that snow has already begun to fall.
Russian troops have launched offensives on different sections of the frontline in Ukraine's east this autumn, trying to advance on the devastated town of Avdiivka and in the northeast between the towns of Lyman and Kupiansk.
"Difficult weather, difficult defence on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Donetsk and Avdiivka fronts. Offensive actions in the south," Mr Zelensky said.
Key Points
Russia has never abandoned peace negotiations with Ukraine, says Putin
Ukrainian army pushing Russian forces back at Dnipro river
Putin Scales back attacks on Avdiivka
Russian and Chinese executives holding secret talks on underwater tunnel to Crimea
10:53 , Andy Gregory
Russian and Chinese business executives have been secretly discussing the construction of an underwater tunnel from Russia to annexed Crimea, Ukraine’s security services claim.
Kyiv claims to have intercepted transmissions about plans to build a vast tunnel under the Kerch strait, as Vladimir Putin’s prized 11-mile bridge there comes under sustained Ukrainian attacks.
The emails – handed to the Washington Post, which claims to have corroborated them in its own reporting – suggest one of China’s largest construction companies has indicated its willingness to be involved, and mention meetings with Chinese delegates in Crimea.
The emails also reportedly reveal efforts to maintain secrecy, with one emphasising that the company will participate only under a “strict provision of complete confidentiality”, with its name will be replaced by “another, unaffiliated legal entity” on any contracts. Another email mentions a Chinese bank willing to “convert its dollar funds into rubles for their transfer to Crimea to fund [consortium] projects”, The Post reports.
Experts told the newspaper that any such construction would likely not be completed for many years – but that this may well fit into Mr Putin’s longer-term planning for the Ukrainian peninsula illegally seized by Russia in 2014.
Kremlin expresses concern over Nato calls for military ‘Schengen Zone'
10:28 , Andy Gregory
Nato’s desire to create a military equivalent of the Schengen Zone has ratcheted up tensions and is a cause for concern, the Kremlin has said.
The chief of Nato’s logistics command, Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, told Reuters in an interview on Thursday that he would like to see such a zone, as he was worried that too much red tape across Europe was hindering troop movements.
Mr Sollfrank said it was a problem that could cause major delays were a conflict with Russia to erupt.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov retorted on Friday that Russia would respond if the proposal became a reality.
Russia pauses attacks across Ukraine frontline amid losses in fierce battle for Avdiivka
10:10 , Andy Gregory
Russia’s forces have halted their fighting at hotspots on the frontline as the war in Ukraine entered its 22nd month on Friday, my colleague Arpan Rai reports.
Russian forces continued to pound the battered Ukrainian town of Avdiivka but were unable to breach the defence of Ukraine’s troops as heavy fighting engulfed Bakhmut, military officials said.
“Basically, nothing has changed. Everything is very tough. As regards the city, there is an average number of eight to 16 to 18 attacks per day. Sometimes 30. We don’t have the time to count them,” said Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration.
Russia’s troops have unleashed “the fiercest” attacks on Avdiivka – Moscow’s newest target after the bloody battle of Bakhmut.
“I am pleased the defence line has been holding for a month and a half. It has not been breached, no matter what they say,” Mr Barabash said in a daily update of fighting on Thursday.
Russia pauses attacks across Ukraine frontline amid losses in battle for Avdiivka
Pictured: Snow hits Kyiv and hampers efforts on frontline
09:52 , Andy Gregory
Snow has been pictured falling as far west as Kyiv in recent days, with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky warning that the changing weather would make the situation more difficult on the frontline.
Finland closes all but one crossing on Russian border
09:30 , Andy Gregory
Finland has temporarily closed all but one of its eight passenger crossings to Russia.
Helsinki has accused Russia of funnelling asylum-seekers to its border, after more than 700 people from nations such as Yemen, Afghanistan, Kenya, Morocco, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria have entered Finland from Russia in recent weeks.
Having last week closed four border stations, Finland overnight closed all remaining passenger crossings except its northernmost one – Raja-Jooseppi, in the Arctic region – for a month.
Raja-Jooseppi opened its gates for traffic this morning and will continue to accept asylum applications during its four daily opening hours, the Finnish Border Guard said.
No migrants arrived overnight outside opening hours, it added.
The European Union’s border agency Frontex said on Thursday it would deploy 50 border guard officers and other staff to Finland along with equipment such as patrol cars to bolster control activities along the Russian border.
High inflation persists in Russia
09:01 , AP
The shelves at Moscow supermarkets are full of fruit and vegetables, cheese and meat. But many of the shoppers look at the selection with dismay as inflation makes their wallets feel empty.
Russia’s Central Bank has raised its key lending rate four times this year to try to get inflation under control and stabilize the ruble’s exchange rate as the economy weathers the effects of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and the Western sanctions imposed as a consequence.
The last time it raised the rate – to 15 per cent, doubled that from the beginning of the year – the bank said it was concerned about prices that were increasing at an annualised pace of about 12 per cent. The bank now forecasts inflation for the full year, as well as next year, to be about 7.5 per cent.
Although that rate is high, it may be an understatement.
“If we talk in percentage terms, then, probably, (prices) increased by 25 per cent. This is meat, staple products — dairy produce, fruits, vegetables, sausages. My husband can’t live without sausage! Sometimes I’m just amazed at price spikes,” said Roxana Gheltkova, a shopper in a Moscow supermarket.
Russian consumers feel themselves in a tight spot as high inflation persists
Putin’s troops suffering mass casualties ‘well behind the front line’, says UK
08:36 , Andy Gregory
Ukrainian long-range precision strikes are inflicting mass casualties among Vladimir Putin’s forces gathering in large groups “well behind the frontline”, as lengthy deployments to the front leave commanders with “an acute dilemma” of whether to keep troops separate or arrange events to boost morale, the UK has claimed.
“Russian forces in Ukraine continue to suffer mass casualties from Ukrainian long-range precision strikes well behind the front line,” said Britain’s Ministry of Defence.
“On 10 November 2023, likely over 70 Russian troops were killed in a strike on a convoy of trucks 23km behind the front line in the village of Hladkivka, Kherson Oblast. Subsequently, on 19 November 2023, a strike on Russian troops attending an award ceremony or concert in Kumachove, 60km inside Russian-controlled territory, likely caused tens of casualties.
“Ukraine has also suffered similar incidents: a Russian ballistic missile killed 19 members of Ukraine’s 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade at a medal ceremony on 3 November 2023.
“Deployed soldiers are typically well aware of the ranges of their adversary’s weapons systems. However, faced with the reality of very long combat deployments, commanders face an acute dilemma.
“They must balance the best practice of keeping the troops dispersed, and less vulnerable to strikes, and the day-to-day requirement to gather units together to conduct administration and to maintain morale.”
Putin pardons two cannibals who joined Russia’s war in Ukraine – report
08:04 , Andy Gregory
Vladimir Putin has reportedly pardoned two Russian men convicted of cannibalism after they deployed to the frontline in the war with Ukraine.
One of the men, Denis Gorin, was recruited into a private military company after signing a contract with the Russian ministry of defence but is known to have been convicted thrice for murdering at least four people between 2003 and 2022. He was also convicted of eating the remains of his victims along with his brother, reported Sibir Realii, a news outlet aligned with Radio Free Europe.
Another man, Nikolai Ogolobyak, was convicted of ritual murders, according to the Russian media reports.
He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2019 for murdering four teenagers and then consuming their remains. The 33-year-old man was reportedly pardoned this week by the Russian president for fighting in the invasion of Ukraine.
My colleague Arpan Rai has the full report here:
Estonia accuses Russia of weaponising immigration at Europe’s borders
06:00 , Alexander Butler
Estonia has accused Russia of weaponising immigration on Europe’s eastern borders amid a rise in the number of asylum seekers trying to enter its territory and Finland.
Speaking during a meeting in Stockholm of Nordic and Baltic defence ministers, Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s defence minister, claimed the hundreds of people who had arrived at the borders of the two countries in recent weeks were a “fully state-orchestrated” operation by Moscow.
Latvia’s defence minister, Andris SprÅ«ds, went a step further, blaming the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who he described as the “puppet master”.
Ukrainian embassy asks Warsaw to unblock border following 2nd driver's death
05:00 , Alexander Butler
The Ukrainian embassy in Poland appealed to Warsaw to end a haulers’ blockade at the Polish-Ukrainian border after a second trucker died while waiting in the line, Ambassador Vasyl Zvarych said.
Polish protesters have been blocking the movement of cargo vehicles at several border crossings with Ukraine since early November in a protest against the EU’s liberalization of transport rules for Ukrainian trucks.
EU border agency to bolster Finland's border
04:00 , Alexander Butler
The European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) plans to deploy 50 border guard officers and other staff, as well as equipment, to Finland amid a growing migrant crisis on the border with Russia, the agency announced on Nov. 23.
November saw an unusually high number of third-country asylum seekers coming to the Finnish border from Russia.
Helsinki accused Moscow of orchestrating the migrant influx as retribution for the country’s entry to NATO and moved to close all but one border crossing with its eastern neighbor.
Ukraine sanctions over 300 Russian, foreign companies
03:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukraine has introduced economic sanctions against more than 300 companies around the world, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
A number of energy companies from across Russia have been targeted by five-year sanctions, while sanctions lasting 10 years were imposed on 87 individuals, among them Ukrainian citizens.
A separate decree imposed 10-year sanctions on Swiss, Cypriot, British, Uzbek, and Russian citizens, as well as companies based in Malta, China, Turkey, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Russia.
Zelensky wishes Americans a happy Thanksgiving
02:00 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has wished Americans a happy thanksgiving and said Ukraine was “grateful” for the country’s support.
“On behalf of all Ukrainians, Olena and I wish all Americans a happy Thanksgiving. We thank you, the people of America. We know how many of you sincerely sympathize with our struggle and wish Ukraine victory.
“We saw how many of you took to heart the illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine and felt that it was also an attack on your values.
“Thanks to American support and global leadership, millions of Ukrainian lives have been saved. Ukraine is grateful to you!
“And we have faith that the unity of the free world will always overcome any threats to freedom. Freedom must not, and will not, fall. We guarantee it together,” Zelensky said on X.
On behalf of all Ukrainians, Olena @ZelenskaUA and I wish all Americans a happy Thanksgiving.
We thank you, the people of America.
We know how many of you sincerely sympathize with our struggle and wish Ukraine victory. We saw how many of you took to heart the illegal and…— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 23, 2023
UK has trained 30,000 Ukrainian recruits, MoD says
01:00 , Alexander Butler
The UK has trained 30,000 Ukrainian recruits since June of last year, the UK ministry of defence said.
It has been aided by military personnel from “10 partner nations”, it added.
Those include Canada, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Australia and New Zealand.
Since June 2022, the UK has been delivering training to Ukrainian recruits.
30,000 recruits are now trained.
With help from military personnel from ten partner nations 🇳🇿🇦🇺🇨🇦🇸🇪🇳🇱🇳🇴🇩🇰🇱🇹🇷🇴🇫🇮 these soldiers are now fighting to regain their country.
🇺🇦#StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/zpbd2NbgJM— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 23, 2023
ICYMI - Zelensky says Putin has made ‘five or six’ attempts on his life
00:00 , Lydia Patrick
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that at least “five or six” Russian attempts to assassinate him have been foiled by his security services.
The wartime leader, speaking from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, said the volume of attempts had turned him almost numb to the danger. He compared the later attempts to catching the Covid-19 infection.
“The first one is very interesting, when it is the first time, and after that it is just like Covid,” he said in a new interview. The first attempt carried panic, he added.
“First of all people don’t know what to do with it and it’s looking very scary,” he told The Sun. “And then after that, it is just intelligence sharing with you that one more group came to Ukraine to [attempt] this.”
‘It’s like Covid’: Zelensky says Putin has made ‘five or six’ attempts on his life
ICYMI - Putin scales back attack on Ukraine’s strategic Avdiivka town after heavy Russian losses
Thursday 23 November 2023 23:00 , Lydia Patrick
Vladimir Putin has scaled back his assault on Avdiivka, said Kyiv’s military officials who also warned that the attacks have not fully stopped yet.
Mr Putin is pouring in fewer troops and equipment in an attempt to seize the battered but strategic Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk oblast that has largely been occupied by Russia.
“Russian occupying forces have reduced the number of ground and air attacks, though they still violate the rules of war by shooting at medical teams and evacuation vehicles,” said Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun.
Avdiivka, that has a vast coking plant, has seen fierce fighting and is now down to just 1,500 residents compared to its pre-war population of about 32,000.
Putin scales back attack on Ukraine’s strategic town after heavy Russian losses
Finland accuses Russia of ‘weaponising migrants'
Thursday 23 November 2023 22:00 , Lydia Patrick
Finnish border controls have built barriers at some crossing points on their Russian border to better control the flow of undocumented migrants, officials say.
Some 600 migrants have attempted to cross the border, they are mainly from the Middle East and Africa, say officials.
The controls erected by Finnish officials include concrete obstacles with barbed wire.
“We need to do this to maintain order (at the crossing points) and guarantee the security of legal border traffic,” Tomi Tirkkonen, deputy commander of the Kainuu border guard district in eastern Finland, told The Associated Press.
The Kremlin disapproved of Finland’s decision to close the checkpoints and rejected Finnish authorities’ claims that Russia has encouraged the influx of migrants at the border to punish Finland for joining NATO.
Tirkkonen’s district monitors and surveils two of Finland’s nine crossing points on the border with Russia, which runs 1.340 kilometers (830 miles), serves as the European Union’s external border and makes up NATO’s northeastern flank.
“Undoubtedly Russia is instrumentalizing migrants” as part of its “hydrid warfare” against Finland, said Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen on Wednesday. Finland joined NATO in April after decades of military non-alignment and pragmatic friendly relations with Moscow.
ICYMI - Ukraine may fail to meet future grain demands amid non-stop Russian attacks
Thursday 23 November 2023 21:00 , Lydia Patrick
Ukraine may not be able to meet domestic and export demand for wheat in the years to come if Russia’s attacks on its export routes and facilities continue, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
“If attacks on food infrastructure and the blockage of sea export routes continue, it will dramatically impact the agricultural production outlook over years to come, and may, in a worst-case scenario, lead to wheat production being unable to meet domestic and export demand,” said the WFP’s Ukraine director Matthew Hollingworth on Tuesday.
Since mid-July this year, there have been 31 documented attacks on Ukraine’s grain production and export facilities, according to an upcoming report by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR), said Mr Hollingworth.
Of these, “28 of these attacks were in Odesa oblast alone”. The province has critical Black Sea and the Danube River terminals essential for global trade, the top official told the UN Security Council (UNSC).
Ukraine may fail to meet future grain demands amid non-stop Russian attacks, says UN
Watch - Putin will choose Iran over Israel in tough choice for protecting his regime, says expert
Thursday 23 November 2023 20:00 , Lydia Patrick
Russian journalist killed by drone strike, claim Russia
Thursday 23 November 2023 19:00 , Lydia Patrick
A Russian television journalist has died from injuries he sustained in a Ukrainian drone attack, says Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
Boris Maksudov died after being wounded in a drone attack while working in southern Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region. Maksudov, who worked for Russian state television channel Russia 24, was hit Wednesday while working on a story about Ukraine allegedly shelling civilians, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed last year.
Russian court fines Google over 'fakes' about Ukraine war
Thursday 23 November 2023 18:00 , Lydia Patrick
A Russian court fined Alphabet’s Google 4 million roubles ($44,582) for its failure to delete what the court called fake information about the course of Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported.
Russia has repeatedly clashed with foreign technology companies over content, censorship, data and local representation in a simmering dispute that intensified after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
Israel and Ukraine could face each other in a playoff final for a spot at soccer's Euro 2024
Thursday 23 November 2023 17:00 , Lydia Patrick
Israel and Ukraine, two countries currently fighting wars, could face each other for a spot at next year’s European Championship.
The two national teams were put on the same qualifying path in Thursday’s playoff draw, with a possible deciding match in March.
Israel was paired with Iceland, while Ukraine will face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the playoff semifinals. The 12 playoff teams will play the six semifinal matches on March 21. All three finals are scheduled for March 26.
Neither Israel nor Ukraine can currently host games at home because the wars. If they both advance to the playoff final, they could meet in a neutral country.
Israel and Ukraine could face each other in a playoff final for a spot at soccer's Euro 2024
Another person killed in Kherson strikes
Thursday 23 November 2023 16:00 , Lydia Patrick
The death toll from the overnight strikes on Kherson has risen to four.
The office said on the Telegram messaging app that Russian forces shelled the town of Beryslav, killing a man who was riding a bicycle.
In a separate massive shelling of several settlements in Kherson district, three people - two men and a woman - were killed, it said.
“It is preliminarily known that the shelling was carried out with cluster munitions,” Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office, said on Telegram.
Russian troops abandoned Kherson and the western bank of the Dnipro River late last year, but now regularly shells those areas from positions on the eastern bank.
Reuters could not independently confirm the report.
Russia singer killed in occupied Ukraine after missile strike hits concert hall during her performance
Thursday 23 November 2023 15:30 , Lydia Patrick
A Russian singer entertaining soldiers in occupied Ukraine has been killed after a missile hit the concert hall in which she was performing, local reports have confirmed.
Polina Menshikh was performing at a dancehall in the town of Kumachove, Donetsk Oblast, roughly 37 miles from the frontline when two missiles allegedly struck the area on 19 November.
The first missile hit the car park outside and the second struck the hall, according to Russian commentators on Telegram.
A video circling among Russian military blogger channels appears to show the moment the first missile hits the car park while Ms Menshikh was singing inside.
Russia singer killed in occupied Ukraine after missile hits the concert hall
Ukraine says at least three dead in Russian airstrike on hospital
Thursday 23 November 2023 14:43 , Lydia Patrick
At least three people were killed and eight others injured after Russian missiles struck a hospital in southern Ukraine, said the country’s emergency services.
Missiles had struck and damaged two buildings of the hospital in Selydove town late on Tuesday, interior minister Ihor Klymenko had said in an earlier statement.
He had warned in his statement that casualties would increase as officials assessed damage from the attack.
Rescue workers finished clearing the rubble after sifting through the remains night and day, 24 hours after the attack, emergency services said on Wednesday. A whole section of the building had totally collapsed, they said.
Ukraine says at least three dead in Russian airstrike on hospital
Kremlin ‘inexplicably concerned’ about upcoming election, say ISW
Thursday 23 November 2023 14:00 , Lydia Patrick
The Kremlin seems to be inexplicably concerned about the outcome of next years’ election, despite Putin’s widespread popularity, report the Institute for the Study of War.
Ella Pamiflova, the chairperson of the Russian Central Electoral Comission, said both Russian citizens who live in Russia and those who have left are attempting to discredit the president.
The ISW suggests the statement means the government will continue to “intensify censorship efforts under the guise of fighting attempted internal election meddling.”
NATO logistics chief warns ‘We are running out of time'
Thursday 23 November 2023 13:30 , Lydia Patrick
NATO has warned its members that too much red tape is hindering troop movements across Europe, a problem that could cause major delays were a conflict with Russia to erupt.
“We are running out of time. What we don’t get done in peacetime won’t be ready in case of a crisis or a war,” the chief of NATO’s logistics command JSEC, Lieutenant-General Alexander Sollfrank, told Reuters in an interview published on Thursday.
NATO’s Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC) in the southern German town of Ulm started operating in 2021. Its job is to coordinate the swift movement of troops and tanks across the continent as well as logistical preparations such as the storage of munitions on the alliance’s eastern flank.
A result of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014, the creation of JSEC reflected the assessment that NATO, after decades of detente following the Cold War, once again needed to be ready for a war in Europe that could break out at any time.
However, the task of quickly deploying forces up to a size of a division with some 20,000 troops, as well as having ammunition, fuel, spare parts and provisions in place, has become trickier since the Cold War.
“We have a surplus of regulations, but the one thing we don’t have is time,” warned Admiral Rob Bauer, head of NATO’s military committee.”
Russian journalist killed by drone strike, claim Russia
Thursday 23 November 2023 13:00 , Lydia Patrick
A Russian television journalist has died from injuries he sustained in a Ukrainian drone attack, says Russia’s Ministry of Defence.
Boris Maksudov died after being wounded in a drone attack while working in southern Ukraine‘s Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia region.Maksudov, who worked for Russian state television channel Russia 24, was hit Wednesday while working on a story about Ukraine allegedly shelling civilians, according to Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
Zaporizhzhia is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia illegally annexed last year.
ICYMI- Putin may start sourcing ballistic missiles from Iran, warns White House
Thursday 23 November 2023 12:30 , Lydia Patrick
At least three people were killed and eight others injured after Russian missiles struck a hospital in southern Ukraine, said the country’s emergency services.
Missiles had struck and damaged two buildings of the hospital in Selydove town late on Tuesday, interior minister Ihor Klymenko had said in an earlier statement.
He had warned in his statement that casualties would increase as officials assessed damage from the attack.
Rescue workers finished clearing the rubble after sifting through the remains night and day, 24 hours after the attack, emergency services said on Wednesday. A whole section of the building had totally collapsed, they said.
Ukraine says at least three dead in Russian airstrike on hospital
Russia carry out deadly strike in southeastern regions
Thursday 23 November 2023 12:00 , Lydia Patrick
Russian shelling killed three civilians in southeastern regions of Ukraine, Kyiv authorities said.
Eight artillery barrages targeted Kherson overnight, killing a 42-year-old in his apartment and wounding another man, the Ukrainian presidential office said.Russian shelling also killed two people in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, the office said.It was not possible to independently verify the reports. Long-range Russian shelling that hits civilian areas has been a hallmark of Moscow’s 21-month war in Ukraine.
Two Ukrainian truckers die amid trucker protest
Thursday 23 November 2023 11:45 , Lydia Patrick
Two Ukrainian drivers have died and thousands of trucks have been stuck for days in the winter cold as the truckers block the roads to three crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border, a key route for Ukraine‘s trade during Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine wants its export routes via Poland to be unblocked before it holds talks with Warsaw and the European Commission aimed at ending protests by Polish truckers.
Taras Kachka, Ukraine‘s trade representative and a deputy economy minister, said drivers were being forced to live for days in freezing temperatures and unhygienic conditions.
“Our task is to unblock the road first and then talk about all the demands that the protesters have,” Kachka said in an interview on national television.
“This should be done at the negotiating table... in Brussels, or in Warsaw, or in Kyiv, but not on the road in winter, causing damage not only to the economy but also to the health and lives of drivers who are stuck there,” he added.
Ukrainian media outlets reported that a truck driver died overnight near the Polish village of Korczowa where he had been stuck waiting to cross the border. Another driver died on Nov. 11 near the crossing in the Polish city of CheÅm.
Polish truckers started their blockade on Nov. 6 to protest against what they said was business lost to Ukrainian drivers who have been made exempt from seeking permits to cross the Polish border during the Russian invasion.
With Ukraine‘s Black Sea ports - a key export route before the war - virtually blocked by Russia, Ukrainian businesses rely on roads and railways to reroute exports and imports.
Ukraine‘s Infrastructure Ministry estimated that an average 40,000-50,000 trucks cross the border with Poland per month via eight existing crossings, twice as many as before the war. Most of the goods are carried by Ukraine‘s transport fleet.
ICYMI - What Russian leader said in virtual address about Ukraine war ‘tragedy’ in G20 speech
Thursday 23 November 2023 11:15 , Lydia Patrick
Russian president Vladimir Putin told the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) on Wednesday it was time to think about how to stop the “tragedy” of the war in Ukraine which entered its 22nd month.
Acknowledging his military operations in the neighbouring nation, the Kremlin chief said some of the leaders mentioned in their speeches that they were shocked by the “continuing aggression” of Russia in Ukraine.
“Yes, of course, military actions are always a tragedy. And of course, we should think about how to stop this tragedy,” he said.
Mr Putin declared a full-scale invasion of the country – calling it a “special military operation” – and despite international calls for peace, continued to send to Ukraine tens of thousands of troops who are trying to capture areas in east and south of the country.
Putin G20 speech: Russian leader calls Ukraine war a ‘tragedy’
Wagner veterans officially recognised by Russia, say MOD
Thursday 23 November 2023 10:45 , Lydia Patrick
A group of Wagner soldiers have been officially recognised as veterans by Russian troops.
The Russian Ministry of Defence has established a new system allowing Wagner veterans to receive official identificaion documents and obtain bonuses, reports the UK’s MOD.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 23 November 2023.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/7tiQlpoOMV
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/NOyuF1SdrK— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 23, 2023
Yale historian says west can help Ukraine break stalemate
Thursday 23 November 2023 10:15 , Lydia Patrick
A historian urges western countries to continue their aid to Ukraine so they can overcome their ‘deadlock’.
Timothy Snyder insisted Ukraine had not reached a stalemate since the west could ‘drop five more queens on the board’, in conversation with the Guardian.
It comes as Kyiv’s top military commander said the Ukrainian counteroffensive was stalling in an interview with the Economist in November.
Professor Snyder told the Guardian: “I hate the stalemate analogy because war is not a game of chess,.
“In chess, there are only so many pieces on the board, and the reason why you get into stalemate is that your pieces get into a certain arrangement.”
Ukraine’s defence
Thursday 23 November 2023 10:03 , Chris Stevenson
Ukraine’s military says it is inflicting major losses on Russian troops as Vladimir Putin’s forces seek to try and encircle the key strategic city of Avdiivka in the east.
Russia has been trying to advance in the area for weeks, with the army saying that Ukrainian troops have repelled more than 30 attacks in the last 24 hours.
Russia carry out deadly attack on Ukrainian hospital
Thursday 23 November 2023 09:45 , Lydia Patrick
At least three people were killed and eight others injured after Russian missiles struck a hospital in southern Ukraine, said the country’s emergency services.
Missiles had struck and damaged two buildings of the hospital in Selydove town late on Tuesday, interior minister Ihor Klymenko had said in an earlier statement.
He had warned in his statement that casualties would increase as officials assessed damage from the attack.
Rescue workers finished clearing the rubble after sifting through the remains night and day, 24 hours after the attack, emergency services said on Wednesday. A whole section of the building had totally collapsed, they said.
Ukraine says at least three dead in Russian airstrike on hospital
Mapped - Current battlefields and frontlines
Thursday 23 November 2023 09:14 , Lydia Patrick
Here are today's control-of-terrain maps of #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine from @TheStudyofWar and @criticalthreats.
Interactive map, updated daily: https://t.co/hwgxTnU2Tr
Archive of time-lapse maps, updated monthly: https://t.co/IT6FiqwgGO pic.twitter.com/4AiUJj4f0v— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) November 22, 2023
Putin ally adopted Ukrainian child, claim BBC
Thursday 23 November 2023 08:38 , Lydia Patrick
A 10-month-old who was taken from a Kherson children home has been linked to Vladmir Putin’s political ally.
Sirgey Mirnov, aged 70 and leafer of a Russian Political party has been named on the adoption record of a two-year-old who was taken in 2022 by his current wife, found the BBC.
The girl who was orginally named Margarita and 47 other children were taken from the care home when the city was under Russian occupation last year.
A BBC investigation has attempted to trace the missing and to identify a ‘mysterious woman in lilac’ who claimed to be “the head of children’s affairs from Moscow.”
The ‘smiley baby’ was discharged from hospital where she was being treated for bronchitis and returned to the home- where she was then taken, report the BBC.
Some weeks later more children were taken from the home, the BBC believes almost all the children remain in Russian hands, just one child, three-year-old Viktor Puzik has returned.
Ukraine says at least three dead in Russian airstrike on hospital
Thursday 23 November 2023 08:16 , Andy Gregory
At least three people were killed and eight others injured after Russian missiles struck a hospital in southern Ukraine, said the country’s emergency services.
Missiles had struck and damaged two buildings of the hospital in Selydove town late on Tuesday, interior minister Ihor Klymenko had said in an earlier statement.
He had warned in his statement that casualties would increase as officials assessed damage from the attack.
Rescue workers finished clearing the rubble after sifting through the remains night and day, 24 hours after the attack, emergency services said on Wednesday. A whole section of the building had totally collapsed, they said.
My colleague Arpan Rai reports:
Ukraine says at least three dead in Russian airstrike on hospital
Sweden’s Nato bid unlikely to be ratified by summit next week, sources say
Thursday 23 November 2023 07:52 , Andy Gregory
Turkey has informed Nato that ratification of Sweden’s membership bid will not be completed in time to allow the country’s accession ceremony at a meeting of alliance foreign ministers next week, two sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters.
Last week, the Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission delayed a vote on Sweden’s Nato membership bid in order to hold further talks on the subject.
One source said the commission will likely resume its debate on the matter on Tuesday or Wednesday, when Nato foreign ministers will meet in Brussels – a gathering that some had hoped would mark Sweden’s accession.
Finland considering shutting entire Russian border
Thursday 23 November 2023 07:00 , Alexander Butler
Finland’s foreign minister has revealed they are considering closing some of the four remaining crossing points - or even the entire border - with Russia.
More than 600 people without valid travel documents to the EU have come to Finland via Russia so far this month, prompting Helsinki to shut several crossings.
Russia claims Ukraine attacked a group of journalists
Thursday 23 November 2023 05:01 , Alexander Butler
Moscow has claimed a group of Russian journalists have come under attack from Ukrainian forces.
The Russian Defence Ministry said the incident happened in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region, which is partially under Russian occupation.
Russia annexed the region, illegally, in September last year.
Thursday 23 November 2023 03:01 , Alexander Butler
The Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has now written to European Council President Charles Michel arguing EU leaders should not endorse the European Commission’s recommendation that Ukraine be allowed to join the bloc.
“The European Council is not in a position to… agree on the future of the enlargement process unless a consensus on our future strategy towards Ukraine is found,” he said.
Thursday 23 November 2023 01:00 , Alexander Butler
After more than a thousand of its workers went to fight Russia’s invasion, a coal mining enterprise in eastern Ukraine suffered a huge staff shortage. Its answer was to allow women to work underground for the first time in its history.
Over a hundred took up the offer. “I took this job because the war started and there were no other jobs,” 22-year-old Krystyna said.
For five months, she has worked as a technician 1,542 feet below ground, servicing the small electric trains that haul workers more than 2.5 miles from the lift shaft where they descend to the seams of coal.
‘It’s like Covid’: Zelensky says Putin has made ‘five or six’ attempts on his life
Thursday 23 November 2023 00:01 , Alexander Butler
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that at least “five or six” Russian attempts to assassinate him have been foiled by his security services.
The wartime leader, speaking from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, said the volume of attempts had turned him almost numb to the danger. He compared the later attempts to catching the Covid-19 infection.
“The first one is very interesting, when it is the first time, and after that it is just like Covid,” he said in a new interview.
‘It’s like Covid’: Zelensky says Putin has made ‘five or six’ attempts on his life
Ukrainian sniper ‘breaks world record after killing Russian solider nearly 2.5 miles away’
Wednesday 22 November 2023 23:00 , Alexander Butler
A Ukrainian sniper claims to have broken the world record by killing a Russian soldier almost 2.5 miles away, with a custom rifle called ‘Lord of the Horizon’, Holly Evans reports.
The previous record was held by a Canadian special operations sniper at a distance of 2.2 miles in Iraq in 2017.
In a press statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said: “The SBU sniper set a world record for a successful shot.
“He hit a Russian soldier from an incredible distance.
“SBU snipers are changing the rules of world sniping, demonstrating the ability to work effectively at fantastic distances.”
Ukrainian sniper ‘breaks world record after killing soldier nearly 2.5 miles away’
Estonia accuses Russia of helping migrants to its border
Wednesday 22 November 2023 21:00 , Tom Watling
Estonia‘s interior minister accused Russia on Wednesday of being involved in “a hybrid attack operation” to bring migrants to its border, aiming to undermine security and unsettle the Baltic state’s population.
A total of 75 migrants, largely from Somalia and Syria, have attempted to enter Estonia from Russia through the Narva crossing point since Thursday, Estonia‘s public broadcaster ERR reported. None have asked for an asylum and all were turned back, the interior ministry said.
Estonia has made preparations to close border crossings if “the migration pressure from Russia escalates”, and to deal with migrants if they try to enter outside official crossings, Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets told Reuters through a spokesperson.
“Unfortunately, there are many signs that Russian border officials and possibly other agencies are involved”, said the minister.
“Quite frankly, (the) ongoing migration pressure on Europe’s eastern border is a hybrid attack operation”, he added.
Russian officials were not immediately available to comment.
Estonia‘s neighbour Finland said on Tuesday Russian authorities were likely directly involved in more than 500 asylum seekers, mostly from Yemen, Somalia, Syria and Iraq, arriving in a sudden surge from Russia over the past two weeks.
On Monday, the Kremlin denied Russia was deliberately pushing illegal migrants towards the Finnish border and said Russian border guards were carrying out their duties in line with the rules.
10 years later, a war-weary Ukraine reflects on events that began its collision course with Russia
Wednesday 22 November 2023 20:00 , Tom Watling
It happens every November, when the cold descends on Kyiv. The change in weather always makes Dmytro Riznychenko think back, and he is overwhelmed by his emotions.
“This is where it truly began,” Riznychenko said, walking through central Kyiv’s Independence Square recently, reflecting on the uprising that unleashed a decade of momentous change for Ukraine, eventually leading to the current war with Russia.
“Ten years of war and struggle,” the 41-year-old psychologist continued, wearily and reluctantly. “And it seems like the blood has only just begun to flow, truly. I regret nothing. But, God, it’s just so tiresome.”
10 years later, a war-weary Ukraine reflects on events that began its collision course with Russia
Ukraine may fail to meet future grain demands amid non-stop Russian attacks, says UN
Wednesday 22 November 2023 19:00 , Tom Watling
Ukraine may not be able to meet domestic and export demand for wheat in the years to come if Russia’s attacks on its export routes and facilities continue, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned.
“If attacks on food infrastructure and the blockage of sea export routes continue, it will dramatically impact the agricultural production outlook over years to come, and may, in a worst-case scenario, lead to wheat production being unable to meet domestic and export demand,” said the WFP’s Ukraine director Matthew Hollingworth on Tuesday.
Ukraine may fail to meet future grain demands amid non-stop Russian attacks, says UN
Germany's defense minister unveils more help for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion
Wednesday 22 November 2023 18:00 , Tom Watling
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius vowed Tuesday to keep supporting Ukraine’s efforts to win its war against Russia, pledging further military aid worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
The new support is to include further Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile systems as well as anti-tank mines and 155-millimeter artillery shells, German news agency dpa reported.
“We are talking about 20,000 additional shells,” Pistorius said at a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, in Kyiv, according to dpa.
Germany's defense minister unveils more help for Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion
Putin may start sourcing ballistic missiles from Iran, warns White House
Wednesday 22 November 2023 17:00 , Tom Watling
The White House said on Tuesday it was concerned that Iran might be providing Russia with ballistic missiles for use in its war against Ukraine.
Moscow is already receiving Iran’s help with Shahed drones, guided aerial bombs, and artillery ammunition and may be gearing up “to go a step further in its support for Russia”, said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
Moscow has received hundreds of Shahed drones that the Russian military used against Ukraine’s energy facilities and other key infrastructure.
Putin may start sourcing ballistic missiles from Iran, warns White House
Putin scales back attack on Ukraine’s strategic Avdiivka town after heavy Russian losses
Wednesday 22 November 2023 16:30 , Tom Watling
Vladimir Putin has scaled back his assault on Avdiivka, said Kyiv’s military officials who also warned that the attacks have not fully stopped yet.
Mr Putin is pouring in fewer troops and equipment in an attempt to seize the battered but strategic Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk oblast that has largely been occupied by Russia.
“Russian occupying forces have reduced the number of ground and air attacks, though they still violate the rules of war by shooting at medical teams and evacuation vehicles,” said Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun.
Putin scales back attack on Ukraine’s strategic town after heavy Russian losses
Lithuanian military support package arrives in Ukraine
Wednesday 22 November 2023 16:03 , Tom Watling
A Lithuanian military support package has arrived in Ukraine, a ministry of defence statement has shown.
You can read the specifics of the package below.
🇺🇦One more new package of military support from Lithuania has reached Ukraine today
🇱🇹@LTU_Army delivered 3 million units of 7.62×51 mm ammunition, remote detonation systems & winter equipment to the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Our commitment to assist Ukraine remains unbreakable pic.twitter.com/IkA508EMFL— Lithuanian MOD 🇱🇹 (@Lithuanian_MoD) November 22, 2023
Here are some of the latest photos from Ukraine
Wednesday 22 November 2023 15:16 , Tom Watling
Below are some of the latest photos from Ukraine as the first snowfall of the winter covers parts of the country.
Russia has shipped grain to Africa free of charge, Putin tells G20
Wednesday 22 November 2023 14:40 , Tom Watling
Russia has sent the first vessels carrying grain to Africa free of charge, President Vladimir Putin told an online gathering of the Group of 20 leading economies on Wednesday.
Russia pulled out of a United Nations-backed deal in July that had allowed safe passage for Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea, but Moscow has since pledged to help developing countries that rely on Russian and Ukrainian grain exports.
In his comments to the G20 meeting, Putin also said a large share of global economic activity was shifting to Asia and Africa, and he called for a bigger role for developing nations in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
Putin says Russia stands for ‘mutually-beneficial cooperation in the world’
Wednesday 22 November 2023 13:36 , Tom Watling
Vladimir Putin said Russia “stands for restoring the spirit of open and mutually beneficial cooperation in the world”.
Putin finishes addressing the G20
Wednesday 22 November 2023 13:34 , Tom Watling
Vladimir Putin has finished addressing the G20 virtual summit.
We will continue to post the most newsworthy bits of his speech as they are translated.
Russia says relations with US risk breaking at any moment
Wednesday 22 November 2023 13:30 , Tom Watling
The fabric of relations between Russia and the US is extremely thin and risks being torn at any moment, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.
Zakharova told reporters at her weekly briefing that Washington’s actions could lead to “unpredictable consequences”.
Russia has never abandoned peace negotiations with Ukraine, says Putin
Wednesday 22 November 2023 13:28 , Tom Watling
Vladimir Putin has said Russia has never abandoned peace negotiations on Ukraine.
“The situation in Ukraine cannot but shock, but the coup in Ukraine and the extermination of the civilian population there and in Palestine is not shocking,” he said, according to state media.
Putin pictured addresses a virtual G20 summit
Wednesday 22 November 2023 13:25 , Tom Watling
Vladimir Putin has been pictured addressing the virtual G20 summit.
It appears only a handful of countries have tuned in to hear him speak, inlcuding India, Spain Indonesia, and Korea.
