Nov 15 Buonasera Mag
Day 265: Russian missile attacks on UA cities, Zelensky G19, Russian missiles- Poland, reactions across EU-US, NATO, FSB agents, China, RU reparation, Banksy, GER-LNG-A&Ps- Mariupol, Piagnerelli, Lake
Catching up…
EA Worldview’s Ukraine Up-date- hop over to Scott’s amazing hourly Ukraine up-date page. I’ll fill in with some bits and bobs.
It’s been a very very busy day.
At the writing of this publication, 7 million Ukrainians are without electricity this evening. The deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said that 15 facilities of Ukraine's energy infrastructure had been damaged during the Russian missile strikes, but Ukrainian air defenses had shot down 70 of more than 90 missiles fired at Ukraine today.
Stories we’re following…
In an overnight video address, President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a 10-point peace plan to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine in to G20 leaders, according to a transcript shared by the Embassy of Ukraine in Indonesia. The proposals include ensuring energy security, food security, and nuclear safety. The plan also envisages preventing ecocide in Ukraine, punishing those responsible for war crimes, withdrawing all Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, and the release of all prisoners of war and deportees.
In comments President Zelensky directed to the “dear G19,” Zelenskyy didn’t hide his joy over Ukraine’s liberation of Kherson from the Russian invaders. He also compared the recapture of Kherson to a key turning point that swung World War II to the allies: “It is like, for example, D-Day — the landing of the allies in Normandy” he said. He ended his address to the ‘G19’ leaders about Russia’s weaponisation of nuclear threats: “There are and cannot be any excuses for nuclear blackmail,” Zelenskyy said, “and I thank you, dear G19, for making this clear.”
Russian missiles strike Ukrainian civilian and critical infrastructure
What can be seen as a response to President Zelensky’s presence at the G20, Russia launched one hundred missiles of the X-55, X-101, "Kalibr" types today on civilian and critical infrastructure across Ukraine from the Rostov region, Caspian Sea and Black Sea areas. As reported here in EuroFile, Ukrainian intelligence had warned of attacks by Russia during the G20 conference.
Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force command confirms that the Russian strikes hit Kyiv, Kyiv region, Kharkiv city as well as Poltava, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskiy, Lviv, Cherkassy, Odesa, and Chernihiv regions. Missiles also landed dangerously close to the Polish border. The strikes follow Russia’s retreat from Kherson and the west bank of the Dnipro River last week.
In the capital, Kyiv, three apartment buildings were hit, in the Pechersk district, a residential area just north of the presidential administration. Four missiles had been intercepted by the Ukrainian forces. The mayor of Kyiv, Klitschko, said that medics and rescue workers were on their way to the scenes. Widespread power outages are reported across the country as a result of the attack. In Kyiv, the power blackouts means that the air raid sirens are not working.
Viacheslav Chaus, the head of Chernihiv regional military administration and officials across Ukraine are asking milbloggers and telegram channels not to post “videos of hits, the work of air defense forces, the deployment and movement of troops!!!”The missile attack continues. Stay in shelters or in a safe place," he added.
Ukraine is currently experiencing “major internet disruption” with live metrics showing that national connectivity is at 67% of previous levels, according to the internet monitoring group Netblocks.
Confirmed: Real-time network data show a major disruption to internet connectivity in Moldova attributed to power cuts; the incident has been caused by Russia's missile attack on Ukraine, per the Deputy PM of Moldova. This is extremely worrying since it’s an area that we are monitoring closely.
POLAND: A senior U.S. intelligence official says Russian missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, killing two people. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to speak with his Polish counterpart later this afternoon, according to a European military official and US official.
The Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki has reportedly called an urgent meeting with government officials on national security and defense, reports Reuters, citing a government spokesperson on Twitter.
Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks: My condolences to our Polish brothers in arms. Criminal Russian regime fired missiles which target not only Ukrainian civilians but also landed on NATO territory in Poland. Latvia fully stands with Polish friends and condemns this crime.
Estonian MFA: Latest news from Poland is most concerning. We are consulting closely with Poland and other Allies. Estonia is ready to defend every inch of NATO territory. We’re in full solidarity with our close ally Poland.
Hungarian MFA: In response to the stop in oil transfer through the Druzhba pipeline and the missile hitting territory of Poland, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened HU's Defense Council for 8 p.m.
A review of what Article 4 and 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty state is always helpful in this time of tension. Social media feeds featured posts calling for the NATO member states to invoke Article 5 but that’s not how this works.
President Zelensky released a video on Telegram: "We can see what the enemy wants, they will not succeed. We may yet have 20 more strikes, please look after yourselves, stay in shelter for some time," he said. "I know that the strikes have caused power outages in many cities of our country. We are working to restore them. We will withstand."
Andriy Yermak: Russia responds to President Zelensky’s powerful speech at G20 with a new missile attack. Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose.
Reactions to the Russian attacks are coming in from across the world. The UK foreign secretary James Cleverly has said that the “callous" targeting of Ukrainian cities with more sickening missile attacks” demonstrates Putin’s “weakness. #PutinMustFail”.
Secretary of State, Anthony Bliken, tweeted: “President Zelensky demonstrated leadership again today by making clear he is prepared for diplomacy toward a just end to the war Russia started. Russia's response was another wave of missiles. These attacks will not break Ukraine’s will—we will be with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan condemned a series of missile strikes against Ukraine in a statement today, writing that the attacks will "only deepen the concerns among the G20 about the destabilizing impact of Putin’s war.”
It is not lost on us that, as world leaders meet at the G-20 in Bali to discuss the issues of significant importance to the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, Russia again threatens those lives and destroys Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” Sullivan wrote. “Our thoughts are with the brave Ukrainian people, who continue to demonstrate resilience and courage in their defense of their sovereignty and democracy.”
Battle on the ground…
For the past 2 days, we’ve been following accounts claiming the Ukrainian forces were in combat to retake the settlements on the eastern bank of Kherson region, the Kinburn peninsula, which is just south of Mykolaiv. We’re awaiting confirmation by Ukrainian authorities.
Russian media: Russian occupation 'administration' leaves Nova Kakhovka in Kherson Oblast. According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the reason for leaving the city, which sits on the east bank of the Dnipro River, was "constant shelling" by Ukraine's Armed Forces.
Meanwhile, Putin announces he intends to change the names of the cities of Melitopol and Mariupol, which the Russian Federation illegally annexed in September.
Stories we’re following…
China’s foreign minister Wang Yi has praised Russia’s “rational” and “responsible” attitude to nuclear war during a meeting with his Russian FM Lavrov at the G20 summit. Wang was quoted as saying by state news agency Xinhua as saying:
China noticed that Russia has recently reaffirmed the established position that ‘a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,’ which shows Russia’s rational and responsible attitude.
The G20 summit refuses to have a group photo of the participating countries. The Guardian reported earlier that the leaders of the G20 countries will refuse the traditional group photo because of the presence at the summit of the Russian delegation headed by Sergey Lavrov.
Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev said, “Ukraine’s liberation from neo-Nazism will begin the return of stability &security to the world.The tasks of the special operation will be accomplished despite military assistance to Kyiv from the West", indicating that Russia has no intention of bringing this war to an end.
Chinese refineries cut oil purchases from Russia, reports Reuters. Chinese refiners are slowing down Russian crude purchases in December and paying lower premiums in the face of imminent European Union sanctions and uncertainty surrounding the G7's plan to cap Russian oil prices, trading sources said.
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas addressed the Finnish parliament today with a speech entitled, “The Battle of our Time”. She said, “Large countries can make mistakes and survive. For small countries, the margin of error is much smaller. This is an existential question for us.”
The US has intelligence that Russia may have delayed announcing its withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson in part to avoid giving the Biden administration a political win ahead of the midterm elections, according to four people familiar with the intelligence.
At the 8th ECPM Congress Conference in Berlin, a message from Tsihanouskaya: “Lukashenko's regime uses the death penalty as a tool of intimation and persecution against people, also against those who are showing solidarity with Ukraine.”
Banksy confirms creating 7 murals in Ukraine. U.K. street artist Banksy has confirmed to The Art Newspaper that he has created seven murals in various locations in Ukraine, including Kyiv and two suburbs of the capital — Irpin and Borodianka.
Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, retailers in Russia have increased their sales of films and music on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as the devices to play them on. This is because of the departure of foreign streaming services.
Germany has completed construction of its first of five floating terminals to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) which its economy minister said would be vital to securing energy supplies to the country over the winter months. Robert Habeck described the floating terminals at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven as being “a central building block for the security of our energy supplies this coming winter”.
Hilary Anderssen, The agony of not knowing, as Mariupol mass burial sites grow- The BBC
More than 1,500 new graves have been dug at a mass burial site near the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to an analysis of new satellite images carried out for the BBC.
Olga Sagirova's harrowing story is a glimpse into what so many in Mariupol went through. She was the only person inside her house to survive when it was bombed by the Russians. Her husband and parents were killed, and like many who have now escaped the city, she doesn't know where their bodies are.
"It just all happened in a split second. Everything was falling down on me," she said.
"My legs were half-buried, so I couldn't even move. When my hearing slowly returned, I could hear my husband's voice somewhere: 'Olga, help me, dig me out,' he said. 'I'm near the stairs'."
Olga could see Valery only six feet away but she could not reach him. He was buried more deeply than her.
All she could do was to keep talking with him. "After a while, I heard him wheezing," she said. "Then he was silent."
Isobel Koshiw reports for us from the village of Posad-Pokrovske on the outskirts of Kherson city- The Guardian
Tanya and her husband Serhiy returned to their village on the outskirts of Kherson city to find there was nothing left of their house.
In March, they fled with their children and grandchildren with only the clothes on their back. Tanya described how they scrawled ‘children’ across their cars and on ripped white bedsheets to hang out of their windows to signal they were civilians. But even as they ran to their car, her children had to jump on top of her grandchildren to cover them from the artillery rounds landing around them. When her four-year-old grandson arrived as a refugee in Poland, he shouted to his father “get down dad, get down,” when he heard someone slam a car door.
She said as they drove out, all they could do was pray. “People we knew in Mykolaiv, not even relatives, rang us and told us to come to them. They helped us with everything, bed sheets, everything,” said Tanya.
Tanya and Serhiy met in the village. It was where they were born and raised two children and grandchildren. Serhiy works for Ukraine’s largest juice producer which is based in the area. They’ve continued to pay his salary throughout the conflict, he says, and every morning they do roll call on Telegram to check all their employees are still okay.
“We lived so well. I had two jobs. I did everything so that my children would live well too. We had a car, so did my son. My daughter owned a flat in the centre of the village,” said Tanya. “My soul is in pain.”
The Russians only briefly entered at the beginning of the invasion and then were pushed out. Since then the entire village has been almost levelled by the fighting.
“60 years,” said Serhiy, who was in a trance like state, trying to take in what he was seeing. “Some Ukrainian soldiers moved in here in May, they found our mobile and rang us to let us know. They said the house was still whole.”
Trump’s message is a losing proposition…
