Nov 26: E-Stories
Day640 Holodomor Maidan Kherson Kyiv CombatSit Avdiivka Crimea Gazprom RUSoldiers Moscow CN EU US HUN PolishBorder Allies A&P Zabrinsky UKDef ISW FT UN Zelensky Weiss Adveeva Gic Belton TimesRad
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.
Saturday was the day we remember the Holodomor.
"They wanted to subdue us, kill us, and exterminate us. They couldn't. They wanted to hide the truth from us and silence terrible crimes. They couldn't. They wanted to confuse us, mislead us, make us not believe, not remember, and therefore forgive. They couldn't. And today, with deep sadness and respect, we honor the memory of millions of our people - millions of victims of famine."
Nov 21 also marked the EuroMaidan Anniversary: Zelensky on 10th anniversary of EuroMaidan: 'It is up to our generation to determine the direction (Ukraine's history) will take.' President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the Day of Dignity and Freedom on Nov. 21, which marks the start of two major Ukrainian uprisings — the EuroMaidan Revolution and the Orange Revolution.
These are the cities that the Russians have destroyed: Mariupol Bucha Izyum Bakhmut Avdiyivka Volnovakha Popasna Severodonetsk Vuhledar Kramatorsk Kherson Kakhovka Chernihiv Mykolayiv Dnipro Vinnytsia.
Stories we’re following…
Ukraine faced its biggest drone attack of the war so far on Friday night, according to Kyiv. Five people were wounded by falling debris in the capital city, including an 11-year-old child and the attack led to power cuts. The attack lasted 3 hours. Ukraine’s energy ministry said 17,000 people were without power in the Kyiv region as a result of the attack, noting that four power lines were damaged. Power was restored later during the day.
Russian shelling of Kherson Oblast kills 1, injures 1. A Russian artillery strike on the village of Dniprovske in Kherson Oblast on Nov. 24 killed a 50-year-old man and injured a 44-year-old woman, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast kill 3, injure 11, including 3 children. The children's library in Kherson also received a direct hit, damaging the front of the building, but there were no casualties.
Zarina Zabrinsky in Kherson: Russians hit a children's library today. Director Olga Kryzhanovska, dedicated 18 years to it. "They didn't ruin a library, they ruined my life." Second library in 12 days.
Russia attacks Odesa Oblast port infrastructure. A Russian strike hit port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, the Southern Defense Forces reported on Nov. 21.
President Zelensky at the Summit on Food Security in Kyiv:
"Russia should know that such strikes on our energy system, especially on nuclear power plants, are a danger not only for Ukraine, not only for the whole world. There may be a response and there may be danger for them as well," Zelensky said.
He also commented on the situation on the Ukrainian-Polish border. "The Poles need to be given time, everything is warming up. The situation happened because of some political steps of our neighbors," he emphasized.
Combat Situation Update
Winter weather has arrived across the entire front line in Ukraine: on November 20, snow fell to the north of Bakhmut, while torrential rains hit the south. The bad conditions are expected to last at least another two weeks, but this hasn’t put a stop to military operations. As a Ukrainian offensive phase ends, a Russian one has begun.
Serhiy Tsehotsky, Officer with the 59th separate motorised infantry bridage on attacks in Adviivka:
"They are pushing in all directions, storming with a wider wedge from the left and right while also storming the front in Avdiivka. It looks like a mental attack. The intensity never decreased, we are constantly under the influence of their artillery, drones and infantry. They fire at us day and night but where we see them, we destroy them. They receive idiotic commands from their commanders which in their turn get them from the political leadership. They want to announce something, take the city but at the same time, they are destroying it completely.”
Russia struggling to subdue hysteria around Ukrainian operations in left-bank Kherson region – ISW. Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Russian officials are struggling to subdue Russian hysteria around Ukrainian operations in the east (left) bank of the Kherson region.
Military: Decrease in Russian air strikes, infantry remains highly active. Russian forces have reduced the number of airstrikes against Ukraine, but their infantry's activity remains high, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria Group fighting on the southeastern front lines, reported on Nov. 25.
Eyewitnesses reported explosions and the sound of automatic gunfire in Novofedorivka, Saky district, in temporarily occupied Crimea.
Air Force: Russian forces cover Shahed drones with carbon to hide them from air defense. Russia’s military began covering its Shahed attack drones with carbon to complicate the work of Ukrainian air defense, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on Nov. 25. Speaking on national television, Ihnat was explaining the black color of drone debris found in Ukraine after Russia’s mass overnight attack.
Ukraine has made arrangements with its allies to get warships to escort ships in the Black Sea. These ships will help protect the boats in the Black Sea’s corridor, states Zelensky Zelensky says Ukraine has concrete deals in place for those ships soon
The SBU showed footage of a Ukrainian naval drone attacking the Kerch bridge on the 17th of July. During a recent interview, head of the SBU Vasyl Malyuk said the bridge can expect 'more surprises'.
Behind the Lines
BBC: Putin ally linked to missing Ukrainian child. A Russian lawmaker is accused of adopting a two-year-old child who was allegedly removed from a children's home in Ukraine, a BBC investigation revealed on Nov. 23.
SBU: Russian commander who ordered killing of civilians in Bucha identified. Lieutenant Colonel Dosyagaev, a commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 104th Regiment of the 76th Airborne Assault Division of the Russian Airborne Forces, was deployed in Bucha at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.
Zelensky dismisses 4 National Guard deputy commanders. President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a series of executive orders on Friday, announcing the dismissal of four deputy commanders within the National Guard, New Voice reported on Nov. 24.
Russia: Major electrical substation "Chagino" on fire in southern Moscow. A different substation in Moscow was knocked out on Nov 24.
Ukraine prepared to evacuate Ukrainian truckers stuck in Polish border blockade. Conditions have continued to worsen for the truckers as the weather gets colder, and "we have run out of time to compromise," said Deputy Infrastructure Minister Serhii Derkach.
Reuters: Ukraine faces LPG shortages over Polish border blockade. Around a million Ukrainian cars use LPG, a third of which is delivered to Ukraine via the Polish border.
Official: Ukraine asks Poland to open additional checkpoints for empty cargo vehicles. Ukraine asked Poland to open additional checkpoints for the passage of empty cargo vehicles to alleviate Ukrainian and Polish truckers during the border blockade, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Nov. 24, citing Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskyi.
Finland to close all but one border crossing with Russia. The measure, which is to take effect on Nov. 24, follows Helsinki's accusations that Russia is orchestrating the influx of migrants as retribution for Finland's entry into NATO.
Zelensky asks military to present new mobilization plan. Speaking at a joint press conference with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, President Volodymyr Zelensky said he listened to reports on challenges in the field of mobilization and options for their solution at today's meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Polish investigation into Russian spy network results in 15 arrests. Poland has completed its investigation into the operation of a Russian spy network and detained 15 people, Polish media outlet RMF24 reported on Nov. 22.
Deputy PM: Ukraine will not make special accommodations for Hungarian minority. Ukraine is working individually with all countries whose minorities live on Ukrainian territory as it aims to fulfill EU accession obligations but will not make "special exceptions" for its Hungarian minority, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olha Stefanishyna said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda on Nov. 22.
Media: SBU allegedly eliminates high-ranking collaborator in Belgorod. Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) reportedly killed Ukrainian collaborator Oleksandr Slisarenko, previously installed by Russia as a deputy head of occupation authorities in Kharkiv Oblast, New Voice reported on Nov. 23, citing undisclosed sources.
Meanwhile in Russia
Ukrainian intelligence get access to Rosaviatsia's secret data: Industry on verge of collapse. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) has announced a successful special cyber operation, as part of which a large number of classified documents of a structural unit of the Russian Transport Ministry - the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) - was obtained.
On November 24, Putin took the stage at the Artificial Intelligence Journey 2023, an AI conference in Moscow. Over the course of a more than 30-minute speech, the leader called for the advancement of AI models rooted in Russia’s “traditional culture,” warning that the Western programs that currently dominate the field are “xenophobic” and are engaged in the “cancellation” of Russian culture.
Washington Post: Russian, Chinese companies discuss possible underwater Crimean tunnel project. Russian and Chinese state-connected business executives have reportedly begun discussing the possibility of constructing an underwater tunnel across the Crimean Strait amidst fears that Ukrainian forces will continue striking the Kerch Bridge, The Washington Post reported on Nov. 24, citing unnamed sources from Ukraine's intelligence service.
Gazprom reduced investments by 20% for 2024, to 1.57 trillion rubles. Collapse of exports, increase in taxes, in the first half of the year Gazprom earned 296 billion rubles: 8.5 times less than the previous year “War is good for Russia.” Avoja.
Bloomberg: India refused to accept a sanctioned tanker carrying Russian oil. Over the past month, the U.S. imposed sanctions against five tankers that violated the price ceiling of $60 per barrel for Russian oil. After that, the ships stopped delivering oil to consumers - Bloomberg. Four of the tankers under sanctions are connected with Sovcomflot. Another one belongs to a Turkish company.
The former Russian prime minister turned Kremlin critic Mikhail Kasyanov has been added to a list of “foreign agents”, Russia’s justice ministry has announced. Kasyanov, who was the first head of Putin’s government in the early 2000s, now appears in the justice ministry’s register of foreign agents, a term reminiscent of the Soviet-era “enemy of the people”.
Slovak PM calls war in Ukraine a frozen conflict. During a state visit to Prague on Nov. 24, Slovakia's new Prime Minister, Robert Fico, called the war in Ukraine a frozen conflict that cannot be solved by sending arms to Ukraine.
Dutch minister: Far-right electoral win 'has me worried' about support for Ukraine. Wilders, whose PVV party won 37 of 150 seats in the Dutch Parliament, has long been vocally anti-immigration but has also made a number of statements in favor of Russia and against the Netherlands continuing to provide support to Ukraine.
Russian propagandists create mirror sites to dodge EU sanctions. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union imposed sanctions on the Russian state-run propaganda media - RT and Sputnik - but the propagandists have been trying to find ways to bypass the restrictions.
Theresa Fallon: New report on the Chinese Communist Party’s Useful Idiots, errh ‘influencers.’ The Chinese manager, “cited foreigners different ‘upbringing and values’ which meant they needed ‘some fine-tuning’ on how to handle sensitive topics.
“If they don’t say good things about China or how they enjoy being here, these foreign influencers will not be able to gain popularity in China. Nor will they gain any commercial value.This is true even for beauty bloggers or lifestyle bloggers, unless they are already very famous when they enter the Chinese market.”
French minister: China's cooperation crucial in ending Russia-Ukraine war. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Nov. 24 that China's support is crucial in bringing lasting peace to Ukraine and urged Beijing not to back Russia's war, the Associated Press reported.
"We are counting on the vigilance of Chinese authorities so that no structure in China, particularly private, contributes directly or indirectly to Russia's illegal war effort in Ukraine," Colonna said after talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi during her trip to China.
Allied Support
Zelensky believes EU ready to meet Ukraine halfway on European integration path. "And we believe that the European Union will be ready to do its part to meet Ukraine halfway, as promised," Zelensky said during a press briefing with Michel and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.
EU sends latest tranche of 1.5 billion euros in macro-financial assistance to Ukraine. The European Union has sent the latest 1.5 billion euro ($1.6 billion) installment of its macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on X on Nov. 22.
The European Union will allocate €50 million to Ukraine. This money will be used to repair the port infrastructure.
Ambassador: Azerbaijan delivers demining machine to Ukraine. The machine will help Ukrainian sappers to carry out humanitarian demining in liberated territories, Ukraine's Ambassador to Azerbaijan Vladyslav Kanevskyi said on Nov. 25.
Germany hands over 20 Marders, demining tank, other aid in latest delivery to Ukraine. Germany handed over 20 Marder armored vehicles, a Wisent-1 demining tank, 2,380 155mm shells, and other aid in its latest delivery to Ukraine, the German government said on Nov. 22.
Switzerland has announced a humanitarian aid package to Ukraine worth €103 million for food and demining. President of Switzerland, Alan Berse, announced during a joint press conference with Zelensky, the President of Latvia and the Prime Minister of Lithuania.
German ambassador: New Patriot air defense system to arrive in Ukraine this winter. The system was originally pledged by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Oct. 5, but he did not give a timeline for when it would be delivered.
Trudeau: Conservative rival abandoning Ukraine under Trump's influence. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, elected for Liberal Party, criticized Canadian Conservatives for voting against a bill to implement a free-trade agreement with Ukraine.
The Holodomor Researcher and Educator: In this, the 90th anniversary year of the Holodomor, we come together to remember those whose lives the Kremlin sought to erase.
EU Commission approves $980 million for Hungary amid Ukraine aid veto threats. The EU Commission approved 900 million euros ($980 million) in advance payments for Hungary from frozen recovery funds, just as Budapest threatens to block Ukraine aid, Reuters reported on Nov. 23.
Ukraine elected to UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the first time. The country submitted its candidacy in July last year. Ukraine will hold the seat on the Committee for the period 2023-2027.