Nov 21 Buonasera Mag
Day 271: Kherson torture chambers Moscow ZNPP Mykolaiv milbloggers NATO UA eco, Norway Poland France Spain, Austria, G7 China-A&Ps- Harding Sandu Alvarova, Tenzer Montefiore
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.
Stories we’re following…
Ukraine prepares to evacuate population from liberated Kherson - head of the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk We are talking about the most vulnerable categories of citizens who cannot provide for themselves.
The UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Monday after the site was shelled more than a dozen times over the weekend. The blasts damaged buildings and equipment, though none had been “critical” for nuclear safety and security, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Strikes on the plane on Saturday and Sunday amount to a “genocidal campaign to freeze Ukrainians to death, to deprive Ukrainians of electricity”, said Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister.
The shelling of the Ukrainian energy structure is equivalent to the use of weapons of mass destruction, – President Zelensky says during his speech at the NATO assembly. "Russia has bet on a genocidal policy, which is why it is destroying our energy infrastructure.”
WSJ: Russia to intensify attacks in eastern Ukraine after withdrawal from Kherson. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Russia’s retreat from Kherson, a “major blow for Moscow,” has freed around 20,000 troops to be redeployed to eastern Ukraine. Russian military leaders will be “under pressure to deliver results in Donbas after giving up Kherson,” WSJ reported, citing military analysts.
ISW: Russian military correspondents emerging as group with distinct voice within Russia. The ISW said in its latest assessment that the Kremlin has allowed the ever-growing informal military blogger community (which mainly consists of military correspondents or voenkors) to gain a quasi-official but independent position despite otherwise increasing domestic censorship. Interesting: watch this to see if it is connected to Prigozhin’s position.
Austin: Russia’s war could trigger nuclear proliferation. Autocrats worldwide may race to acquire nukes if Russia isn’t repelled, said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “They could well conclude that getting nuclear weapons would give them a hunting license of their own.”
Stoltenberg: NATO needs to boost military production to continue supporting Ukraine. NATO has exhausted a significant part of its weapons and ammunition stockpiles and would need to step up production to help Ukraine for the “long haul,” Stoltenberg told CBC.
NATO Parliamentary Assembly recognizes Russia as ‘terrorist state,’ calls for special tribunal creation. "The resolution names Russia the most direct threat to Euro-Atlantic security," said Tomas Valasek, member of the Slovak delegation.
The office of the prosecutor in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region released a statement on Monday giving more details about what it said were four “torture chambers” in Kherson City. Today’s statement said the four locations were in the city, “in the seized buildings of the Kherson temporary detention center, the pre-trial detention center and in one of the district police departments.”
Parts of rubber truncheons, a wooden bat, a device used by the occupiers to torture civilians with electricity, an incandescent lamp and bullets from the walls were seized,” it said. “In the cells and basements, various methods of torture, physical and psychological violence were used against people.
US to provide up to $20 million for ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said support for the initiative announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G20 summit will help deliver grain to the “world’s most vulnerable.”
Washington is committed to supporting Kyiv "for as long as it takes," said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday. Austin, answering a question on Ukraine from the media during a joint press conference in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, said it is “hard to predict how things will evolve and on what timeline, but we’re in this in support of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
Economy Ministry: At least 5 million people lost their jobs in Ukraine due to Russia's war. “The war is destroying the Ukrainian labor market,” said Deputy Economy Minister Tetyana Berezhna.
Norway has signed an agreement to provide funding of almost $200 million to help Ukraine purchase natural gas this winter, the Norwegian government said in a statement on Monday. The 2 billion Norwegian kroner (around $195 million) in funding will be “channeled” through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
Polish, Finnish PMs back confiscating Russian assets to fund Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki proposed the idea during his visit to Finland on Nov. 20. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said she hoped that the European Commission would find a judicial solution for confiscating Russian assets.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak confirmed Germany’s offer to deploy additional Patriot air defense systems to Poland. After the blast in Polish Przewodow village, Germany said it would provide air defense and help Poland in its air patrol.
France sends Crotale air defense systems, MLRS to Ukraine. France sent two Crotale air defense systems and two Multiple Launch Rocket Systems to Ukraine, French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu told Le Journal du Dimanche.
Spanish police will be deployed to Ukraine to support the country’s authorities “in the investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Monday.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announces a new military training center for Ukrainians in Toledo. The training centre will complement EU and British military training efforts for Ukraine and will be inaugurated in late November
Times: Britain imports Russian oil worth over $230 million via legal loophole. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, at least four tankers with Russian oil have arrived in Britain.
Austria has successfully reduced its dependence on gas deliveries from Russia, the country's climate action minister tweeted on Monday. Russia's share of total gas deliveries to Austria fell from 79% in February to 21% in September, said Leonore Gewessler. The Austrian Ministry for Climate Action tweeted a graph showing that imports from other sources had increased accordingly. Norway is now a major alternative gas supplier, it said.
G7 members: “On the launch of an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK): This reckless act, together with the evidence of ongoing nuclear activities, underscores the DPRK’s determination to advance and diversify its nuclear weapons and missile capabilities. It further destabilizes the region, despite calls from the international community for peace and stability.”
We reiterate our demand that the DPRK abandon its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner and cease immediately all related activities. The DPRK cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State in accordance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) or any other special status in this regard.
The G7 expresses its full solidarity with Japan and the Republic of Korea and urges the DPRK to cease its destabilizing actions. We urge the DPRK to resume meaningful dialogue toward denuclearization and accept the repeated offers of dialogue put forward by the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea.
On Nov 16, the Chinese President met with the Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni– their first official meeting. She later told the press that he said that “our ability to influence [Russian President Vladimir Putin] is much more limited than people think.” “A tactical justification, perhaps, on the day [Mr] Xi backed away from condemning Moscow in the final document of the Twenty, but nonetheless a sign of how complicated relations with the Kremlin have become,” writes La Stampa.
After weeks of savaging Ukrainian cities with Iranian-made drones, Moscow has quietly reached an agreement with Tehran to begin manufacturing hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft on Russian soil, according to new intelligence seen by U.S. and other Western security agencies.
Luke Harding, ‘Russian warship, go fuck yourself’: what happened next to the Ukrainians defending Snake Island?- The Guardian
When Putin’s forces approached a tiny Black Sea outpost, demanding its Ukrainian defenders surrender or die, their expletive-laden response became a symbol of resistance. How did the men on the island live to tell the tale?
In his 12 years in the frontier service, Bohdan Hotskiy saw many wild places. He thought his home, Ukraine, was the most beautiful country in the world: it had sea and mountains, forests and steppes, marshes and lakes. All was perfect, and so complete that Hotskiy – a 29-year-old captain – never felt the inclination to go abroad. Why bother? “We have everything,” he tells me when we meet in the Ukrainian town of Izmail, close to the border with Romania.
PM Maia Sandu, Europe’s security is at stake in Moldova- Politico
Friends and partners are also providing support to the best of their abilities.
Romania, our good neighbor and strong supporter, has stepped in, with electricity exports now accounting for about 80 percent of Moldova’s current consumption. Meanwhile, on a recent visit to Chișinău, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced fresh assistance to help ameliorate Moldova’s crisis, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has thrown a lifeline to finance emergency gas supplies.
Today, French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting a meeting of the Moldova Support Platform — an initiative led by France, Germany and Romania.
Nicholas Tenzer, West Must Craft a Russian Strategy- CEPA
Here is what they must accept — the absolute defeat of the Russian regime is not only necessary for Ukraine, but also for Belarus, Syria, Georgia, Moldova, Myanmar, parts of Africa and Latin America, the Balkans, and Hungary, and for the integrity of our democracies.
It is time to understand the positive chain of consequences that would result from the regime’s departure: a world safer, more beautiful, more dignified, and above all less devastating for human life. It could also only have ripple effects on the People’s Republic of China and on a multitude of issues, such as anti-corruption and good governance.
