The Russian military attacked a number of targets in Ukraine on Tuesday. According to the Ukrainian general staff, both rockets and warplanes were used in the attacks in the Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Cherson regions. “Critical infrastructure and homes continue to be attacked in violation of international humanitarian law and the rules of warfare,” the military wrote on Facebook. No further details were given about the effects of the attacks.
Ukraine’s General Staff accused the authorities of neighboring Belarus of continuing to support Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian targets by providing “infrastructure, territory and airspace”. “The danger remains that the enemy will launch airstrikes with combat drones from the territory and airspace of this country.”
In the region around the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the General Staff in Kyiv registered continued organized looting by Russian soldiers. The day before, convoys with stolen household appliances and building materials had been observed, and at the same time the dismantling of mobile phone masts and systems continued. In addition, the occupiers took “all the art objects and even the furniture” from the regional museum of the Soviet-Ukrainian painter Oleksiy Shovkunenko.
According to British military experts, the Russian occupying forces in Ukraine are preparing for Ukrainian breakthroughs along the front. For this purpose, among other things, tank obstacles were set up around the occupied southern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, according to the daily intelligence update on the Ukraine war from the Ministry of Defense in London on Tuesday.
“Russia is strengthening its lines in all occupied territories,” the statement said. According to the British, this should probably prevent rapid Ukrainian advances in the event of a front breakthrough. As part of a land bridge to the occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, Mariupol is of particular strategic importance.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the Kremlin has reached an agreement with Iran to supply long-range ballistic missiles. For example, Russia plans to purchase Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles, which Ukraine believes will be used to continue attacking civilian energy infrastructure. Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said at a press conference on Monday. Major General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Service, said the delivery of Iranian missiles could happen by the end of November. Iran itself denies the plans, according to the New York Times.
According to Ihnat, Ukraine is currently holding talks with Western allies on how to defend itself against the missiles. “This is a serious threat, because unlike the Russian ones, Iranian missiles are highly accurate and very fast, and these characteristics are battle-tested,” Budanov recently told the online site War Zone. So you could shoot the rockets already at the start. But that would require longer-range weapons, which the United States and other allies have been reluctant to deliver, according to the New York Times report. The fear: Ukraine could use it to attack military targets in Russia.
The missiles Moscow wants to buy from Iran are similar to the Iskander missiles that Russia has used since the war began. According to Western military analysts and Ukrainian officials, Russia is turning to Iran because of a shortage of Iskander missiles in its inventory.
According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia and India are considering joint production of modern armaments. According to the state agency TASS, Lavrov said on Tuesday after a meeting with Jaishankar in Moscow that he had spoken to Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar about the prospects for military-technical cooperation. Which armaments could specifically be involved remained open. It is the fifth meeting of the two ministers this year.
With a view to aid for Ukraine, which was under attack from Russia, Lavrov accused Western countries of wanting to consolidate a “dominant role in world affairs” and “preventing the democratization of international relations” under the pretext of “Ukrainian events”. He therefore rates the position of the “Indian friends” on Ukraine highly, said Lavrov.
India is taking a neutral stance on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine because it has close ties with the West and Russia. The country also does not support Western sanctions and is promoting conflict resolution through dialogue. Recently, India bought more relatively cheap oil from Russia. New Delhi is also heavily dependent on Moscow for its military equipment and spare parts. According to Lavrov, Russia and India also want to work more closely together in the field of nuclear energy and space travel.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has responded to allegations by Russia’s 155th Pacific Fleet Marine Infantry Brigade in a rare response Nov. 7. In a letter, they strongly criticized the actions of their commanders. Her unit is said to have lost 300 soldiers within a few days because of a “nonsensical offensive” in Pavlivka. The ministry said less than 1 percent of the brigade had been killed and less than 7 percent wounded in the past 10 days, according to The Institute for the Study of War (ISW). In addition, Moscow pointed to the allegedly high Ukrainian losses.
Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of Primorsky Krai and addressee of the letter, also referred to the allegations. The reported losses of the brigade are greatly exaggerated. He could imagine that Ukrainian secret service agents wrote the letter of complaint. Nevertheless, Kozhemyako contacted the brigade command and forwarded it to the Russian military prosecutor’s office.
It is highly unusual for the Defense Ministry to respond to military bloggers’ criticism of failed offensives by the Russian army. The response to the milbloggers’ outcry may prove that some of them have now had an impact on the ministry’s communications policy. On the other hand, the situation in Pavlivka seems so bad that an answer seems warranted.
Also Read: Elite Unit Loses 300 Soldiers in 4 Days, Blames Russian Leadership
According to an analysis by ISW, leading figures in Russia’s pro-war faction, the “Siloviki”, are operating behind the backs of Russian officials in order to expand their influence in Russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine. As an example, the “ISW” cites the establishment of an official office in Russia by Wagner financier Prigozhin, the establishment of the “Wagner Line”, a line of defense in Belgorod, and the constant criticism of the governor of St. Petersburg. According to military experts, Prigozhin is trying to improve his business relations in Russia. According to the “ISW”, Prigozhin regularly appears as one of the candidates for a possible successor to Putin in the Kremlin – which shows how successful his attempts to build his influence in Russia are, even if a presidential candidacy is considered rather unlikely.
The situation is similar with Putin’s bloodhound, the Chechen leader Kadyrov. He is also trying to make financial profit from the invasion and to establish business relationships in the occupied territories.
In order to further support the war against the Russian invaders, Ukraine has also placed five important large companies under the direct control of the Ministry of Defence. Those affected include the previously partially state-owned oil producer Ukrnafta and the oil processor Ukrtatnafta, as Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal explained. The transformer manufacturer ZTR, the truck manufacturer Kraz and the aircraft engine company Motor Sich will also be expropriated. In the future, the companies will now work around the clock for the defense needs of the state.
North Korea has meanwhile denied information from the US government that the internationally largely isolated state is secretly supplying ammunition to Russia. The Defense Ministry in Pyongyang accused the US of making “hostile attempts” to damage North Korea’s reputation. “We reiterate that we have never had ‘arms trade’ with Russia,” a deputy director for foreign affairs at the ministry was quoted as saying by state media on Tuesday. It is also not planned to do so in the future.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) underlined the importance of close Franco-German cooperation for Europe – both in supporting Ukraine against Russia and in the fight against climate change. “We have shown that together we are stronger than this terrible war,” said the Green politician at the Franco-German Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin, with a view to the EU. “We wouldn’t have been able to do that without a strong Franco-German alliance.”
In view of the violent Russian attacks on his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised the international willingness to help. “The current escalation of Russian missile and drone terror has only resulted in the world (…) responding with new aid for Ukraine,” Zelenskyj said in his video speech on Tuesday night.
Zelenskyj also reported successes in pushing back Russian troops in the occupied areas in southern and eastern Ukraine. According to him, hundreds of Russians die every day in the Donetsk region in particular. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow, on the other hand, denies such high losses in its own ranks. The information provided by both sides can hardly be verified independently.
Also Read: The Ukraine Update of November 7th
