Wednesday, November 15

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian infantrymen train with military instructors to upgrade combat skills in Zaporizhzhia as Ukraine’s government is looking for ways to make its people sign up for military service more palatable. (Andriy Andriyenko/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Stoltenberg: Negotiations with Russia up to Ukraine’s decision. It is Ukraine’s decision when and if negotiations should be started with Russia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said before the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Nov. 14, in comments cited by Interfax-Ukraine.

Umerov: Death of soldiers at award ceremony ’could have been avoided.’ The organizers of the award ceremony, where at least 19 Ukrainian soldiers from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade were allegedly killed in a Russian attack, ignored basic security measures that could have prevented the incident, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Nov. 14.

Prosecutor’s office: Russian soldiers who killed civilians, including well-known children’s writer, identified. Two Russian soldiers who killed at least four civilians in Kharkiv Oblast around the beginning of the full-scale invasion, including the well-known children’s writer Volodymyr Vakulenko, were identified by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, according to a post on Nov. 14.

SBU detains man suspected of spying on military airfields. A man who is suspected of passing on information to Russia about Ukrainian military airfields in Mykolaiv has been detained, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced on Nov. 14.

NGO Save Ukraine rescues 4 more children from Russian occupation. Two of those children had a short experience of studying in a Russian-controlled school where they saw Russian soldiers pressuring students who spoke Ukrainian in the classroom, according to the organization’s founder Mykola Kuleba.

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Ukraine starts grain insurance program following attack on foreign cargo ship. Ukraine launched an insurance program with broker Marsh McLennan and Lloyd’s of London to cover grain vessels leaving from Ukraine’s deep-sea ports, days after a Russian missile struck a foreign cargo ship, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 14.

IEA: Russian revenues from oil exports drop due to sanctions, global market forces. Russian revenues from oil exports in October dropped by almost 2.5% from the previous month in part due to Western sanctions against those violating the $60 per barrel price cap, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported on Nov. 14.

Putin signs law restricting media freedom during elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin approved amendments to the law on presidential elections that establish new restrictions on media coverage, according to the Russian state legal portal on Nov. 14.

Russian media: Putin pardons convicted killer of famed Russian journalist. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin pardoned the convicted killer of famed Russian opposition journalist Anna Politkovskaya after his military service in Ukraine, Russian state-controlled media RBC reported on Nov. 14.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia lost 4,000 soldiers on eastern front in 2 weeks, commander says

Over the past two weeks, Russia lost over 4,000 of its soldiers and 500 pieces of equipment on the eastern front in Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts, Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on Nov. 14.

Photo: Vlada Liberova/Libkos via Getty Images

Rise of populism in Ukraine’s neighborhood: Not as gloomy as you think

Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico regularly parrots Russian propaganda, blaming Kyiv for Russia’s invasion. This makes two of them, with Hungary’s Viktor Orban long being accused of being Moscow’s favorite EU leader.

Photo: Simon Wohlfahrt/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Commander: Russia has lost over 4,000 soldiers on eastern front over past 2 weeks. Russian forces have lost over 4,000 soldiers and 500 pieces of equipment in fighting on the eastern front in Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts, Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Nov. 14.

1 killed, 2 injured following Russia’s attack on Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces launched a missile attack overnight on Nov. 15 targeting the city of Selydove in the western part of Donetsk Oblast.

Governor: Russian attacks on Nikopol kill 1, injure 1. Russian troops struck the Nikopol district in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast 11 times on Nov. 14, killing a 26-year-old man, reported Governor Serhii Lysak.

Explosive ordnance kills 1, injures 1 in Kharkiv Oblast. A 35-year-old man was killed after his car hit an explosive device in Kharkiv Oblast’s village of Hryhorivka, the regional administration reported on Nov. 14.

Official: Russian attacks on Kherson injure 2 women. As of 7 p.m. local time, two female civilians are confirmed to have been wounded in Russian attacks against Kherson on Nov. 14, reported Roman Mrochko, the head of the city’s military administration.

International response

US House passes spending bill without Ukraine aid. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a stop-gap funding bill to avoid a government shutdown that did not include additional aid for Ukraine or Israel, CNN reported on Nov. 14.

Germany’s Rheinmetall to provide Ukraine with 25 Leopard 1 tanks. German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall will supply Ukraine with 25 main battle tanks Leopard 1A5 as part of an order financed by the German government, the company announced on Nov. 14.

EU provides additional $118 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine. The EU is providing an additional 100 million euros ($107.2 million) for humanitarian aid operations in Ukraine and 10 million euros ($10.7 million) to support Ukrainian refugees and their hosting in Moldova, the European Commission announced in a press release on Nov. 14.

Commissioner: EU can produce 1 million shells, missiles per year with enough effort from member states. European Commissioner Thierry Breton said that the EU is capable of producing 1 million artillery shells and missiles per year for Ukraine by spring, provided enough effort from member states, Ukrinform reported on Nov. 14.

Ukraine and Poland fail to reach agreement over border protests. The Ukrainian and Polish governments once again failed to make progress in stopping a week-long protest of Polish truckers at Ukraine’s border, Reuters reported on Nov. 14 citing a Ukrainian official.

Xi Jinping arrives in US for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in San Francisco on Nov. 14 for his first visit to the U.S. since 2017. He is due to meet President Joe Biden at an undisclosed location in the San Francisco Bay Area the next day.

Finland considering closing border with Russia. Finland is reportedly considering closing its border with Russia completely, Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo stated on Nov. 14.

Video: Should Ukraine draft women alongside men?

In other news

Washington Post: Banned Russian oil flows into Pentagon supply chain. Russian oil continues to flow into the American military supply chain despite Western prohibitions, the Washington Post reported on Nov. 14.

Guardian: Top German journalist received funds from Russian oligarch close to Putin, leak reveals. Hubert Seipel, an influential German writer and filmmaker, received at least 600,000 euros ($652,000) in secret offshore payments from companies linked to an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Guardian reported on Nov. 14, citing leaked files.

Stoltenberg: Plans for Russian base on Georgian territory unacceptable. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced Russia’s plans to create a naval base in Abkhazia, a Russian-occupied territory of Georgia, in comments before the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels on Nov. 14, as cited by the Georgian media outlet Civil.Ge.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Martin Fornusek, Elsa Court, Nate Ostiller, Teah Pelechaty, Dinara Khalilova, Rachel Amran, and Olena Goncharova.

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