Ukraine Daily

Thursday, November 17

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A man removes a banner from Russian occupation period “Russians and Ukrainians are one people, one whole” in the newly liberated Kherson on Nov. 14, 2022. (Photo by Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images)

Police: Death toll of Russia’s Nov. 15 missile strike grows to 2. According to Kyiv Oblast Police Chief Andrii Nebytov, a woman was killed in Plesetske village, 45 kilometers southwest of Kyiv, on Nov. 15.

Ukrenergo warns of ‘hard days’ after Russia’s biggest attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. As the weather is getting colder and the electricity consumption is growing, so will the load on the grid, said Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine’s state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo.

Zelensky admits receiving hints that Putin wanted to negotiate. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 16 that Western countries had given “signals” that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought direct talks with Ukraine.

Ukraine’s parliament votes to extend martial law, mobilization. The Verkhovna Rada has prolonged Ukraine’s martial law and mobilization for the fifth time since the start of Russia’s all-out war, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak. Both measures are extended for 90 days until Feb. 19, 2023. Zhelezniak said 294 and 297 lawmakers voted in favor of extending martial law and mobilization, respectively.

National Resistance Center: Russia forcibly relocates Ukrainians from occupied territories to Russia’s south. Russia forces Ukrainians from occupied territories to relocate to Russia’s southern regions, Krasnodar and Stavropol, the Ukrainian military’s National Resistance Center reported on Nov. 15.

Reintegration Ministry: Red Cross to provide $2.7 million to liberated Kherson Oblast residents. The Red Cross will provide Hr 100 million ($2.7 million) to aid people living in recently liberated parts of Kherson Oblast, The Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Ministry said on Nov. 16. Residents will each receive Hr 1,200 ($33) if they were living in Kherson Oblast at the time of liberation by Ukrainian forces.

Pentagon chief: NASAMS intercept all Russian missiles in Ukraine. The U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the NASAMS air defense systems provided to Ukraine have a “100% success rate,” Sky News reported.

Police chief: Russians mined police department building in Kherson, Ukraine forced to destroy the premises. Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said on Nov. 16 that Russian troops heavily mined the regional police headquarters in Kherson Oblast, forcing Ukraine to detonate the building.

Media: Explosions heard in Russian-occupied Dzhankoi. Explosions were heard in Russian-occupied Dzhankoi, Crimea, late in the evening on Nov. 16, Ukrinform reports citing local Telegram channels. No official reports about the origins of explosions have been published yet.

Infrastructure Ministry: Ukraine donates 27,000 metric tons of grain to Ethiopia. The Infrastructure Ministry said on Nov. 16 that the grain is being transported on the Nord Vind bulk carrier via the UN-backed grain corridor. On Sept. 19, Ukraine’s government said it will provide Ethiopia and Somalia with 50,000 metric tons of free wheat.

Explosion in Poland

Zelensky denies Ukrainian missile hit eastern Poland during Russia’s mass strike. President Volodymyr Zelensky on Nov. 16 said he has no doubts that it wasn’t a Ukrainian missile that fell on NATO-member Poland’s border village during heavy Russian strikes.

Danilov: Ukraine urges joint examination of explosions in Poland. National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksii Danilov said Ukraine is “ready to hand over evidence of the Russian trace” regarding the explosions reported in Poland on Nov. 15. Ukraine is “expecting information from our partners, based on which a conclusion was made that it’s a [Ukrainian] air defense missile,” Danilov saidю

CNN: Ukraine tells US, allies it attempted missile interception near site of Polish strike. Ukraine’s military has informed the U.S. and its allies that it tried to intercept a Russian missile near and during the timeframe of the missile strike in Poland on Nov. 15, CNN reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official. It is currently unclear as to whether the missile that hit Poland was the same missile that Ukraine’s military attempted to intercept.

Russia summons Polish ambassador amid missile strike. Moscow has summoned the Polish ambassador to Russia following the Nov. 15 missile strike on Przewodow, Poland, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Nov. 16. While the origin of the explosions has not been confirmed, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said a Ukrainian air defense missile attempting to intercept a Russian missile likely hit Poland.

White House: Russia bears ultimate responsibility regardless of whose missile fell on Poland. The White House said on Nov. 16 that it sees “nothing” that contradicts the Polish claim that the missile blast in eastern Poland, killing two, was likely the result of a Ukrainian air defense missile that accidentally fell on its NATO neighbor. But regardless of the origins of the missile, the White House said that Russia bears the ultimate responsibility for the “tragic incident” in Poland.

Kherson chronicle: From quick fall to liberation.

Ukraine’s recapture of the southern city of Kherson came as a happy surprise for exiled local journalist Kseniya Keleberda. “When Ukrainian forces first entered Kherson, we cried and smiled at the same time,” she told the Kyiv Independent.

Photo: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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Michael Kofman: ‘After Kherson, Ukraine gains may come at slower pace.’

The Kyiv Independent asked Michael Kofman, military analyst and Research Program Director in the Russia Studies Program at CNA, to comment on what retaking Kherson means for the future of the war.

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Governor: Russian forces wound 4 civilians in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 16. According to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, three people were injured in Bakhmut and one in Pereizne. The body of one more civilian killed by Russian troops during the occupation has been discovered in the village of Sosnove, Kyrylenko said.

Prosecutor General’s Office: Russia’s war has killed 431 children, injured 835 since Feb. 24. Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Nov. 16 that the numbers are not final as they don’t include casualties in the Russian-occupied territories and areas where hostilities are still ongoing. Since the beginning of Russia’s all-out war against Ukraine, Russian forces have damaged 2,719 educational facilities, completely destroying 332 of them, the statement read.

General Staff: Russia has lost 82,710 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Nov. 16 that Russia had also lost 2,871 tanks, 5,797 armored fighting vehicles, 1,860 artillery systems, 393 multiple launch rocket systems, 209 air defense systems, 278 airplanes, 261 helicopters, 1,525 drones, and 16 boats.

International response

Reuters: G20 leaders’ declaration condemns Russia’s war. On the second day of the G20 summit, leaders of all member countries approved a declaration saying they “deplore in the strongest terms” Russia’s war against Ukraine, Reuters reported, citing diplomatic sources.

RFE/RL: Biden says Poland missile ‘unlikely’ fired from Russia. “It is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see,” U.S. President Joe Biden, said according to the RFE/RL.

Duda says no signs that Nov. 15 missile landing in Poland was a deliberate attack. “We have no evidence at this time that it was a missile fired by the Russian side,” Poland’s President Andrzej Duda said.

Czech parliament’s lower house recognizes Russian authorities as a ‘terrorist regime.’ The resolution condemns Russia’s mass attacks on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure.

Sweden to supply Ukraine with air defense systems. The systems will be provided under the largest aid package that Sweden has given to Ukraine so far, according to the country’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.

Pentagon chief calls Ramstein-7 meeting ’very successful,“ more military aid for Ukraine announced. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the group will continue working closely with Ukraine to provide critical equipment and weapons. “We’re going to maintain our momentum throughout the winter so that Ukraine can continue to consolidate gains and seize the initiative on the battlefield,” he added.

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