by Summary for Thursday, 16th November 2023 - DAY 631
Key developments over the past 24 hours:
- Ukraine’s military has described as “fairly fluid” the situation on the Russian-held side of the Dnipro River at Kherson. It comes after Russia admitted for the first time that Ukrainian troops have been able to cross over to the left (eastern) bank and establish themselves.
- Natalia Humeniuk from the Ukrainian southern command said: “The pushback from our side is taking place on a line from three to eight kilometres along the entire bank from the water’s edge. For now, we will ask for informational silence ... which would allow us to report later on great successes.”
- Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko told media outlet RBK Ukraine that the growing area of contested control on the eastern bank “significantly reduces the mobility and capability of the Russian occupiers”.
- A report in the Wall Street Journal said Ukrainian marines were reinforcing positions in three villages on the eastern bank of the Dnipro, including emplacing armoured Humvees and at least one infantry fighting vehicle, and had cut off one road that Russians used to resupply troops in the area.
- A Russian artist who replaced supermarket price tags with messages calling for an end to Moscow’s war in Ukraine is expected to learn her fate in court on Thursday with a state prosecutor asking for her to be jailed for eight years. Amnesty International has declared Alexandra Skochilenko, 33, “a prisoner of conscience”.
- The Czech Republic has frozen property owned by Russia on Czech soil, it was announced. Jan Lipavský, the Czech foreign minister, said: “At my suggestion, the government today approved the freezing of Russian state assets in the Czech Republic. The commercial activities from which Russia finances the murder of Ukrainians ends here.”
- Russia said that Ukrainian accession to the US-led Nato military alliance would be unacceptable, according to Reuters. “Whether in parts or in any form, Ukraine’s accession to Nato is unacceptable for Russia,” Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for Russia’s foreign ministry, told reporters.
- A Russian missile killed two emergency workers in southern Ukraine as they put out a fire from an attack only minutes earlier, Ukrainian officials said. At least seven other people were injured in the strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region, in which Russian forces fired three missiles in about half an hour, according to the regional governor, Yuriy Malashko.
- The EU has proposed banning the export of machine tools and machinery parts that Russia uses to make weapons targeting Ukraine, [url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-15/eu-takes-aim-at-key-machine-exports-to-russia-in-new-sanctions?leadSource=uverify wall]documents seen by Bloomberg reveal[/url]. The proposal is contained in the EU’s 12th sanctions package, which also includes a ban on diamonds, the outlet reported.
- Ukraine’s state railway said it had restricted grain deliveries to Odesa, one of the country’s key Black Sea ports, because of repairs.
- Nato has announced it will buy six Boeing aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of Awacs surveillance planes, bolstering the alliance’s capabilities to track the threat from Russia, AFP reported.
- Hungary has sought a review of the EU’s policy towards Ukraine, disagreeing with Germany, Lithuania, Finland and Ireland, who backed bringing Kyiv closer to the bloc more quickly and granting it more aid.
- Pope Francis has called on the faithful to pray regularly for peace in Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan and all other war-torn places.
- Vladimir Putin is likely to announce his presidential candidacy before the end of 2023, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said.
What I want to say by being here is we will continue to give you the moral support, the diplomatic support, the economic support, but above all the military support that you need, not just this year, and next year, but however long it takes.”
by 
61-BLUES
