According to an analysis of military experts from the “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW), the Russian army repeats a fatal mistake in the battle. According to the daily update, the company has not learned from the strategic mistakes of previous campaigns and is once again focusing on smaller goals with no strategic or operational value
Since the end of May, the Russian army has used many forces to establish smaller settlements in the Bakhmut area. On the other hand, after six months, only a few conquered areas can be shown, but a large number of soldiers have been lost. Putin’s army had already made the same mistake in Sieverodonetsk and Lysychansk.
The ISW draws a conclusion that is devastating for the Russian army: Even if Bakhmut is finally to be conquered, the city offers little strategic added value. The price to be paid for conquest far outweighs the cost. Instead, Ukraine is being offered good opportunities for counterattacks because a large number of troops have been tied up in the area for months.
The classification of the famine in Ukraine that was deliberately brought about 90 years ago as a genocide by the Bundestag was expressly welcomed by the Ukrainian government. “This is a decision for justice, for truth,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily video address on Wednesday evening. “And that is a very important signal for many other countries in the world that Russian revanchism will not succeed in rewriting history.”
With a large majority, the MPs in Berlin on Wednesday accepted a joint motion by the traffic light coalition and the Union faction, in which there is talk of an “inhuman crime”. Under the responsibility of the Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, up to four million people fell victim to the so-called Holodomor (“Murder by Hunger”) in 1932 and 1933 in Ukraine alone.
Selenskyj’s adviser Mykhailo Podoljak also welcomed the Bundestag’s decision. “Germany, 2022. Openly names Russia as the murderer who is waging the war in Europe, recognizes the 1932-33 Holodomor as a genocide against the Ukrainian people, talks about the impossibility of an “unjust peace” on Russian terms,” Podoljak tweeted in German in the evening. “We thank you for this strong German leadership position and hope for Leos.” In doing so, he confirmed Ukraine’s desire to have German Leopard-type main battle tanks delivered. In the Ukrainian version of his tweet, he also expressed hope for missile defense systems.
According to the Ukrainian armed forces, the Russian military has taken a “missile break” after the heavy attacks of the past few weeks. However, the Russian military is using this interruption to prepare new massed attacks, Vadim Skibizki, a representative of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, said on Wednesday. On the one hand, the Russian side is checking which targets are to be attacked, and on the other hand, the effect of previous attacks is being evaluated.
In addition, new missiles are being prepared for use, Skibizki said. “This will need time.” Since Russia has used up a large part of its combat-ready missiles, projectiles that were still being built in Soviet times are now being taken out of the arsenals and processed. Nevertheless, Russia is also using some modern missiles from the strategic reserve. The information could not be verified.
For some time now, the Russian armed forces have been targeting objects of the energy infrastructure in order to put pressure on the Ukrainian population with the loss of electricity and water supplies.
Despite feverish repairs to the electricity grid, around six million people in Ukraine are still without electricity. “Technicians and utility companies are doing everything to stabilize the system and give people more energy for longer,” Zelenskyj said in the evening. But: “The situation in the capital and in the areas of Vinnytsia, Lviv, Odessa, Khmelnytskyi and Cherkasy remains very difficult.”
The US government is hoping that Congress will soon approve billions in additional spending to support Ukraine. National Security Council communications director John Kirby said Wednesday the government is detailing to members of Congress what the money will be used for. The administration has asked Congress for an additional $37.7 billion in funding to help Ukraine fight aggressor Russia.
Washington has mobilized huge sums of money in support of Ukraine in recent months. In May, the US Congress approved funds totaling almost $40 billion, which were gradually distributed to Kyiv in various packages. The USA also delivered weapons and ammunition from its own military stocks, which now have to be increased.
Also read: The Ukraine update on November 30th.
Estonia’s defense minister is certain that Russia will still learn militarily. Ukrainian Ambassador welcomes German Holodomor resolution. Chancellor Olaf Scholz is convinced that Russia “will not win this war”. All current voices and developments on the Ukraine war can be found in the ticker.
The deputy head of the Russian naval school in Vladivostok is dead. He is said to have shot himself. His widow makes serious accusations against his superiors and demands that Putin himself should lead the investigation.
Vladimir Putin’s latest narrative to justify the war is that Russia is defending its own existence in Ukraine. In fact, the country is threatened with ruin. But the Kremlin is actually responsible for the degradation of Russia.
