At the Prague Defense Summit on November 11, Admiral Rob Bauer, head of the NATO Military Committee, said that the only thing that prevents the United States from going to war directly with Russia is the possession of nuclear weapons. According to him, if Russia did not have such an arsenal, Western countries would already be ready to use force to liberate Ukraine.
“If the Russians did not have nuclear weapons, we would already be in Ukraine and we would drive them out of there. That’s what we would do. But they have nuclear weapons. So it’s not the same as Afghanistan. For me, there is a big difference between Afghanistan and Ukraine. In fact, Afghanistan has never had any strategic importance. Does Ukraine have any strategic importance? YES. Because it is connected to the discussion of the rules-based international order, it is connected to what is at the heart of Europe, it is connected to Russia’s ambitions and, indirectly, to China’s ambitions,” added Rob Bauer.
US Congressman Mike Walz has a different opinion: “He wants to bring it to the negotiating table,” he explained how Trump intends to end the war in Ukraine. “The president has been clear that he wants to bring both sides to the table. His goal is to end the war, not continue it,” said Republican Congressman Walz from Florida, who has been appointed National Security Advisor. According to him, the vision of security policy towards Ukraine depends on Donald Trump: “It is not up to me, it is up to the president’s decision.” Trump is expected to appoint a special envoy to Ukraine soon to lead negotiations to end the conflict; source Fox News.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has meanwhile informed the press that the mobilization in Ukraine will continue in 2025 for military and defense purposes. He also noted that the department “felt that the economy needs reserves” and that the Defense Ministry “will always be open” to economic arguments, Umerov explained.
Adviser to the head of Volodymyr Zelensky’s office Mikhail Podolyak said that Ukraine can offer US President-elect Donald Trump a partial replacement of the US military contingent in Europe, as well as joint development of mineral resources. According to social media, Ukrainian MP Yevheny Shevchenko was accused of treason after openly criticizing Zelensky and calling for negotiations with Russia.
Russian Security Advisor Sergei Shoigu said at the air show in China that the fifth-generation Su-57 fighter is performing well in the Northern Military District. In Russia, Vladimir Putin increased the amount of a one-time payment to participants of a special operation in case of injury resulting in disability to 4 million rubles.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Putin considers it absolutely correct and right to increase support for SVO participants. Military awards of SVO participants do not affect the amount of payments in case of injuries,” Peskov said.
In the Tula region, after Governor Dmitry Milyaev increased payments to military personnel, the number of people wishing to serve under a contract in the Northern Military District increased 5 times, the region became the leader in Central Russia in payments to contract soldiers in the Northern Military District. The income of a serviceman who signs a contract in the region in the first year is more than 5 million rubles.
Those who sign the contract will receive a regional payment of 2 million 100 thousand rubles and a federal payment of 400 thousand rubles. In addition, more than 60 support measures for military families are planned in the region, including financial, social, psychological and legal assistance. Russian authorities also say that all residents of the border areas will receive housing certificates, regardless of the destruction of the Kursk region, as reported by the head of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, Roman Starovoit. “Everyone will receive certificates, regardless of the degree of destruction. If a person receives a housing certificate and “buys” it in the region, the land remains with the owner,” he said.
“South Korea may reconsider the possibility of direct supplies of weapons to Ukraine due to the rise to power of Donald Trump,” Bloomberg source.
And now a look at the front line updated at 17:00 on November 14.
On the morning of the 13th, the Russian Armed Forces launched a combined missile and drone strike on Kiev for the first time in the last 73 days. Air-launched missiles from strategic bombers were also used to strike specific targets.
In the Kursk region, the battles for Plekhovo and the Novaya Sorochina settlement continue, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are firing cannons and using numerous drones. The concentration of Ukrainian efforts is evidenced by the destruction of a British Challenger 2 heavy tank by the Marines of the 155th Russian brigade. The very fact of the transfer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a reserve to the Kursk region demonstrates the intention of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to hold the occupied lines in the Russian region at all costs. The “North” group of troops advanced to the village with fighting in Novoivanovka and forests in the Malaya Loknya area. Ukrainian Armed Forces are throwing new reserves and NATO armored vehicles into battle and are putting up fierce resistance. Russian OTRK and Tornado-S crews continue to strike at the assembly points of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reserves in the Sumy region.
From the direction of Kupyansk, Ukrainian resources reported the entry of Russian troops into Kupyansk at night, marking the beginning of the battle for the city. According to Ukrainian estimates, two columns of Russian equipment moved from the Liman First area to Kupyansk. They managed to enter the city and disembark troops, who dispersed in houses in the area of Svatovska Street. The Ukrainian Armed Forces describe the situation as “the main entrance to Kupyansk”.
In the direction of Pokrovsk west of Petrovka, Russian forces advanced along the railway, the depth is about 1 km. The Russian army continues to attack Kurachove and create a wide “pincer” around this city, important for the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. So, in the north there are battles in the area of Illinka, from the south Russian troops are advancing towards Dal’nje. The shelling of the Kurakhovsky dam in the west by the Ukrainian Armed Forces failed to prevent the movement of even civilian SUVs (the area is still under the Ukrainians).
In the Donetsk direction 20 of 55 million m³ of water have flowed from the Kurakhovsky reservoir, source head of the Donetsk regional military administration Vadim Filashkin. There is no flooding of homes and no threat to residents of villages on the Volchya River. In the Volnovacha district of the Donetsk region, forced evacuation of children with their parents has been introduced, source regional military administration. “We are talking about the settlements of the Velyka Novosilka community: Velikaya Novosilka, Andriivka, Bahatyr, Vremivka, Zelenyi Kut, Zolota Nyva Kostyantynopil’, Novyi Komar, Novoukrainka, Odradne, Oleksiivka, Petropavlivka, Rozlyv, Slov’yanka, Ulakly, Shevchenko. Ukrainian sources report: “Some of these settlements are located in the south, directly near the front line, where an intensification of the Russian offensive is expected soon. Some are located north of the Pokrovs’ke-Kurachove highway, towards which the Russian Federation is already advancing.”
At 10:15 on November 14, Russian armed forces took control of the Voznesenka settlement in the DPR, source: Russian Ministry of Defense. In the direction of Vremivka, the Russian Defense Ministry also announced the capture of the Rivnopil settlement, offensive actions of Russian troops continue.
On the Zaporozhzhie front, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are urgently forming a second line of defense, equipping it with reserves. The Ukrainians expect the Russians to launch a large-scale offensive.
In the direction of Kherson, Russian UAV operators and artillery are destroying Ukrainian positions on the right bank of the Dnieper River. Ukrainian forces respond by shelling civilians. In Kakhovka, shelling of residential areas by the Ukrainian Armed Forces damaged two gas pipelines. In the village of Nova Zbur’ivka, Golopristansky municipal district, Russian sources report that the Ukrainians attacked an ambulance.
On the morning of the 13th, the Russian Armed Forces launched a combined missile and drone strike on Kiev for the first time in the last 73 days. Air-launched missiles from strategic bombers were also used to hit specific targets.
In the Belgorod region, in the village of Gruzskoye, Borisov district, four men were injured as a result of a kamikaze drone attack. In the village of Oktyabrsky, Belgorod region, a truck caught fire following a drone detonation. Shebekino is under artillery shelling, Novaya Tavolzhanka was subjected to air launches from a UAV.
In the DPR, as a result of the shelling of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Horlivka, 143 transformer substations were turned off. Without light, water and heating: 60 thousand people.
Graziella Giangiulio
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