Pope Francis invited Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and all Russia to meet at the end of November-beginning of December in the United Arab Emirates, the Tass reported.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Nov. 21 at a meeting with American troops in Rzeszow, Poland, that they could be on the front lines if Russia conquers Ukraine. “Putin will not stop if he takes control of Ukraine. Then he will go to the Baltics, and then you and your comrades in arms will find yourself on the front lines fighting Putin, who we should have – or Ukraine could have – stopped earlier,” Austin said.
The Pentagon chief also said that if Russia succeeded in the war against Ukraine, it would push China to use military force to conquer territory. On Monday, November 20, Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Kiev, and then visited Poland, where he met with the head of the Polish Ministry of Defense Mariusz Blaszczak.
NATO on November 23 announced its desire to create a “military Schengen” for the free movement of alliance troops. The news was announced by the head of the Joint Logistics Command, General Alexander Sollfrank, who stated that NATO currently has problems with the national regulations of member countries relating to the movement of people and ammunition.
EU countries could start buying ammunition for Ukraine from third countries if they do not fulfill their obligations to supply 1 million bullets to Kiev by March, Politico reports, citing a senior French diplomat.
The EU must move to plan B for Ukraine because Russia cannot be defeated, said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaking in Zurich at the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the conservative Swiss weekly Die Weltwoche. “What was our strategy? Ukrainians fight and win at the front, and Russians lose on the battlefield. What is the reality? Ukrainians fight and die. What have we come to? Russia will not lose and nothing will change in its policy. We must therefore face reality and move to plan B,” Orbán said.
Czech President Petr Pavel, during the meeting of the four Visegrad presidents, called Russia the main threat to Europe and announced the preparation of European armies for a high-intensity conflict.
Meanwhile, the Russians have posted online images of an American drone with components from Switzerland that was shot down in the Northern Military District area. The downed drone contains parts produced by U-Blox. The company is headquartered in Switzerland and has branches in the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Finland, France and Hong Kong. It specializes in the development and production of GPS chips, blocks and modules. The company became a market leader after creating the smallest GPS receiver and the first surface-mount GPS module.
The company’s partners are Atmel and SiRF Technology Inc. Together with Atmel, ANTARIS GPS technology was developed, which will allow achieving good navigation performance in various environments, including areas with limited visibility and weak signal. The company also collaborates with Mitsubishi Electric and Bosch.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the Czech President’s statement that European countries must prepare for a military conflict with Russia hysterical and stressed that the Russian Federation does not pose a threat to the European Union.
“We have heard many hysterical statements from Prague over the last year or even several years. Such hysterical feelings do not paint the leadership of the Czech Republic. Well, they have such a generation of politicians in power. This is rather their problem. Russia does not represent a threat to Europe,” Peskov said in an interview with the program’s author Moscow. Kremlin. Putin, Pavel Zarubin.
In Ukraine they say that “The delivery times of the new weapons to the Ukrainian army have been reduced from several months to 20 days, and that they will be tested directly on the battlefield” source Ministry of Defense of Ukraine
And now a look at the front line updated at 6pm on November 23.
Bachmut Directorate (Artemovsk). South of Bachmut (Artemovsk) fighting continues for the Kleshchiivka heights. In Avdiivka the Russian army is fighting near the railway.
Donetsk direction. The Russian army successfully advances in the Stepnoye area. Clashes continue in the coal industry area. In addition, Russian fighters took new locations in the industrial area south of Avdiivka.
Zaporizhzhie Directorate. In the Orichiv sector, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked unsuccessfully near Novoprokopovka and Verbove. Meanwhile, Russian fighters counterattacked in the Novofedorovka area. There are no changes on the Vremevsky ledge: the Russian army overwhelms the Ukrainians at Staromayorsky and Urozhainy.
In the direction of Kupyansk, “Russian fighters destroyed more than two platoons of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and three pickup trucks.” Bring back the Russian social sphere. “During the hostilities, units of the Western Group of Forces used aviation and artillery to repel the attack of the assault groups of the 14th mechanized brigade in the Sinkovka-Olshany direction. Russian aircraft carried out missile and bomb attacks on the temporary deployment points of the 14th and 43rd mechanized brigades and the 15th border detachment in the Petropavlovka, Sinkovka and Podol areas.”
“Furthermore, crews of K-52 and Mi-28 helicopters attacked gatherings of military personnel, weapons and military equipment of the 14th mechanized assault brigade, 25th Airborne and 95th Airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Berestovoye areas , Sinkovka and Makiivka. During the counter-battery combat, Russian artillery destroyed the enemy’s ammunition supply point.”
Direction Kherson. After a slight improvement in the weather, Ukrainian marines intensified their attacks in the forest adjacent to Krynki. The positions of the marines of the Ukrainian Navy in the village itself are already quite strong, so the Ukrainian army has concentrated its efforts on expanding the bridgehead.
After several days of activity, the assault groups of the Katran strike group managed to advance a little southward into the forest. The main goal is to gain a foothold under the cover of vegetation and continue to advance deeper.
Ten Marines were deployed to one of the positions last night along with a Bumblebee flamethrower to carry out an assault on the Russian positions.
At the same time, a stronghold of the consolidated formations of the 35th, 36th, 38th brigades of the Marine Corps was equipped in private homes near the landings. There the ammunition and the RPG Carl Gustav were delivered. At night, Russian artillerymen carried out targeted shelling on the crossing areas of Frolov Island, as a result of which five marines were injured and killed. Four others were injured during the evacuation.
Likewise, Russian troops shelled the surroundings of the large and small railway bridges on Aleshkinsky Island, disrupting the rotation of the advanced units.
So far the Ukrainians have failed to achieve a significant result in the area. However, the intensity of attacks and attempts to enter the forest area has increased. If previously the Marines limited themselves to “probing” the defense, now they try to penetrate 200-300 meters deep, which, as the ground hardens, can lead to large-scale attacks on Krynki.
Graziella Giangiulio
