Russia continues its rocket attacks and looting. According to the British secret service, the repair of the Crimean bridges could take another year. Meanwhile, Russia is withdrawing from Cherson. All news about the Ukraine war in the ticker.
4:18 p.m.: Under pressure from Ukrainian counter-offensives, Russia’s troops are withdrawing from a strategically important part of the annexed southern Kherson region. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday ordered the right bank of the Dnipro River to be cleared, according to Russian state television.
Wednesday, November 9, 9:39 a.m .: According to British intelligence experts, the repair of the damaged bridge to the Russian-occupied Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula of Crimea could take almost a year. “Russian efforts to repair the Crimean Bridge continue, but it is unlikely to be fully operational before September 2023,” the Defense Ministry’s daily Ukraine War Intelligence Update in London said on Wednesday.
The bridge, which is important for the supply of the Russian invasion troops in Ukraine, was severely damaged by an explosion on October 8th.
According to a briefing to Russian President Vladimir Putin, work on the road bridge will continue to restrict traffic until March 2023, British experts said. The repair of the railway line was contractually agreed until September 2023. One track is currently usable, but train traffic is still restricted. In the winter months, the repair work will also depend heavily on the weather conditions.
7:28 p.m.: 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.
Tuesday, November 8, 10:48 a.m.: According to British military experts, the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine are preparing for breakthroughs by the Ukrainians 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.
4:47 p.m .: Russian troops are apparently looting abandoned houses in Cherson. This is reported by Ukrainian sources. In Cherson, Ukraine and Russia are preparing for what may be the decisive battle. In addition, Russian soldiers in civilian clothes are said to occupy houses to strengthen their positions for street fighting.
Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Pdoljak tweeted that Russia is forcibly evicting people from their homes and robbing them. Russia itself, on the other hand, speaks of an “evacuation”. In addition, Russian journalists would distribute videos accusing Ukraine of injuring civilians.
1:52 p.m .: Ukraine has received the first Nasam air defense systems. This was announced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Monday. The weapon system from Norway is intended to help against rocket and drone attacks. Especially with the increasing number of Russian drone strikes, Nasams can play an important role in defending Ukrainian cities.
The airspace of the US capital Washington D.C. is protected by the missile defense system. It is one of the world’s most widely used medium-range anti-aircraft systems.
In addition to Nasams, the Italian medium-range air and surface-to-air missile Aspide is now also in use in Ukraine, it said.
Monday, November 7, 6:56 a.m.: Ukrainian media report an attack on the railway administration in Donetsk. Pictures show that the building in the center of the city is on fire.
Recently, Russia had increasingly attacked infrastructure in Ukraine. It is still unclear whether there are injuries or deaths.
Sunday, November 6, 1:04 p.m .: According to Russian information, the Kakhovka dam in the Cherson region in southern Ukraine, which is occupied by Moscow, was damaged in a Ukrainian attack. At 10:00 a.m. (9:00 a.m. CET) on Sunday there was an attack with “six Himars rockets”, Russian news agencies quoted local rescue services as saying. A rocket hit a lock on the Kachowka dam, it said.
The dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station is located on the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, which is currently controlled by Russian troops and annexed by Moscow.
Ukraine had accused Russia of wanting to destroy the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Accordingly, Russian forces mined the dam to stop a Ukrainian counter-offensive in Cherson with a tidal wave.
11:35 a.m .: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the population to hold out in view of the massive Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure. “Enduring the Russian energy terror is now our national task,” said Zelenskyj in his evening video address on Thursday. He spoke of around 4.5 million people who were repeatedly affected by emergency shutdowns, especially in Kyiv and ten other areas.
The fact that Russia has recently been increasingly attacking thermal power stations and power plants is “a sign of weakness,” Zelensky said. Unable to achieve success on the battlefield, the Russian army is now trying to “break” the Ukrainians on this path. But this will not succeed.
Friday, November 4 11:05 am: Due to their low morale, Russian forces have probably started deploying “blockade troops” or “blockade units”. This is reported by the British Ministry of Defense in its daily update. These units would threaten to shoot their own desserteurs to force offensives.
In recent times, Russian generals would likely want their commanders to use arms against deserters and possibly authorize firing as well. The tactic of shooting deserters likely reflects the poor quality, low morale and indiscipline of the Russian armed forces, London said.
4:07 p.m .: According to Western security circles, Russia is preparing to withdraw its troops from the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson. The Russians may have decided that “the city wasn’t worth the fight,” a senior Western government official said Thursday in a background briefing to journalists. However, it is always possible that the military leadership will change its mind at short notice, even if everything currently points to a withdrawal, he said.
Located on the right bank of the Dnipro, Cherson was captured by Russia at the very beginning of the war of aggression. At the end of September, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin officially annexed Cherson as one of four Ukrainian regions for Russia. At the same time, the situation of the Russian troops west of the river has deteriorated significantly. The Ukrainian troops systematically destroyed the Russian supply routes across the Dnipro and advanced further towards the city in their counter-offensive in early October.
12:11 p.m .: The Russian flag has disappeared from the administration building of the annexed Kherson region. This is reported by the independent Russian news site “Meduza”. One of four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia after mock referendums, Kherson is currently the subject of fierce contestation between Ukrainian and Russian forces. However, as of Thursday morning, the flag was no longer visible in front of the building, according to Yuri Sobolevsky, the region’s top administrative official. Pro-Russian Telegram channels also confirmed the absence of the flag. However, the Russian flag would continue to fly in the other three annexed areas, according to the pro-Russian site WarGonzo project.
Wednesday, November 3rd, 10:56 a.m .: In the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine there were several heavy explosions on Thursday night. This was confirmed by representatives of both sides, although the accounts differed. Russian anti-aircraft defenses shot down incoming Ukrainian missiles, a representative of the occupation administration, Vladimir Rogov, wrote on Telegram.
The expelled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said a factory building with a Russian staff inside was shelled. The information could not be independently verified. Russia uses Melitopol as the administrative center for the partially conquered Zaporizhia region, which it has declared annexed.
In its morning situation report, the Ukrainian general staff reported Russian attacks on the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Donbass. Destruction of a power supply facility was reported in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. A Russian drone struck there.
10:32 p.m .: Ukraine has reported intense fighting with Russian units in the Donbass, especially around the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar. “Dozens of attacks in one day” were repelled, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar said on Ukrainian television on Wednesday. If the Russian army advances, Ukraine will immediately respond with a counterattack.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, Russia continued to attack infrastructure in several regions of the country with missiles and Iranian drones. According to the authorities in the Kharkiv area, five women and two men were injured in the attacks. The attackers damaged four private houses, two high-rise buildings and a shop with artillery fire, it said. For its part, Ukraine reported the destruction of an ammunition depot, among other things. The information from the combat area could not be independently confirmed.
Russia recently targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Numerous power plants were hit, and there are power cuts every day. Power was cut off in the Kyiv region on Wednesday. Consumption has increased significantly – in order to avoid a massive outage, the decision was made to take this step, said the utility Ukrenerho in the capital.
Wednesday, November 2, 8:16 a.m .: According to British secret services, Russian troops are making extremely slow progress in their attacks in Ukraine. The Ministry of Defense in London referred on Wednesday to statements by the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to which his units advanced 100 to 200 meters a day. Prigozhin did say that this is normal in modern warfare. However, the British Ministry emphasized that Russian military doctrine provides for advances of 30 kilometers per day.
For comparison, the agency said: “In February, Russian forces planned a 1,000-kilometer advance through Ukraine within a month. In September, Ukrainian units made advances of more than 20 kilometers per day.”
In the past two months, Prigozhin has given up any pretense that he has no connection to the Wagner group and has spoken much more publicly, the ministry said. “He’s probably trying to brush up on his credibility within the stressed-out Russian national security system.”
You can read more reports on the Ukraine conflict on the following pages.
