The European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada have signed a memorandum of understanding that will allow, in particular, to organize the permanent presence of its representatives in Kiev, said President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola. On November 29, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that Ukraine has met almost all the requirements for starting negotiations for accession to the European Union.
As reported by the European edition of Politico newspaper, von der Leyen called Ukraine’s reforms “deeply impressive.” Even the head of the European Commission does not agree with the fact that the West is tired of Ukraine, she writes the publication. Von del Leyen stressed that the EU still supports Ukraine, but the responsibility for this lies with the leaders.
Enthusiasm was curbed by the head of the European Council who admitted that the EU has not yet reached an agreement on the start of negotiations with Ukraine on membership and on the 50 billion euros to finance Kiev. Hungary closed the statements on the matter: “Hungary has not supplied and will not supply weapons to Ukraine, as this prolongs the conflict” declared Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjártó in an interview with the American television CNBC.
Foreign ministers of NATO countries at their meeting in Brussels admitted that the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian armed forces against Russian troops failed, did not live up to their expectations and brought much less than expected results – he said the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Peter Szijjártó. However, NATO is developing a roadmap for Ukraine’s transition towards full interoperability with the alliance – NATO-Ukraine Council Statement
US Secretary of State Blinken assured that during the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers he saw “no signs of tiredness” in support for Ukraine. But once again Hungary closed the topic by declaring: “Ukraine cannot now become a member of NATO, because this would lead to World War III and because Kiev violates the rights of national minorities,” the Foreign Minister said Hungarian Szijjártó.
The NATO-Ukraine cooperation program for next year does not include the supply of lethal weapons. We read that In a statement by the foreign ministers of the alliance following a meeting in the NATO-Ukraine format, in which Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba participated, we read: “NATO continues to provide Ukraine with non-lethal assistance urgently needed”.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) is becoming the de facto army of the alliance. We are increasing our compatibility with NATO. We are largely becoming a de facto NATO army in terms of technical capabilities, approaches and army management principles,” Kuleba said during a news conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
In Crimea, the damage caused by the exceptional wave of bad weather that hit it in the previous 48 hours is starting to be counted: it is estimated at half a billion rubles.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba will not travel to North Macedonia for the meeting of OSCE foreign ministers, which will be held from November 30 to December 1. The participation of the Russian delegation was cited as the reason in Kiev: Lavrov intends to fly to Skopje.
Meanwhile, comments continue in the Ukrainian media about the fact that President Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to eliminate Valery Zaluzhny’s loyalists to isolate him and then remove him from office. Last week, the president’s office instructed the heads of regional administrations to cut off all communications with the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny, journalist Yuri Nikolov said. There are now many in Ukraine who think that the commander will resign under pressure from the chain of command.
The President of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk denies the existence of a conflict between Zelenskyj and Zaluzhny: according to him “there has not been a single case of tension between the political and military leadership”. The controversy over the poisoning of the staff continues. Budanov including his wife. The Ukrainians are blaming the Russians who passed the accusations back to the sender. The Kremlin called the statements of the Ukrainian side about Russia’s involvement in the attempt to poison the wife of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate “habitual accusations” Ukrainian military man, Kirill Budanov. “Ukraine blames Russia for everything, in my opinion, Ukraine blames Russia for its existence,” commented Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a minute of silence at the Russian World Council in memory of the soldiers killed in the Northern Military District. And then he said: “Without a sovereign and strong Russia, a lasting world order is impossible. Russia has become stronger: the historical regions have returned to the country and society abandons superficialities and turns to true values.”
The Russian Defense Ministry assumes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may use biological weapons in connection with the failed counteroffensive, RKhBZ troop chief Kirillov said. During the special operation, 17 cases of use of chemical weapons components by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to poison food were recorded, said the head of the Russian troops of the Russian Chemical Defense Plant. These actions of the Ukrainian army led to the death of at least 15 people, he noted.
On November 29, a Ukrainian drone was shot down over the skies of the urban district of Podolsk, in the Moscow region.
And now a look at the front line updated at 16:00 on November 29th.
Kupyansk section: Military personnel of the “West” group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces, during several weeks of systematic advance deep into the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, eliminated Ukrainian formations from several landings south and south-west of Liman 1 and the Russian soldiers entered the village of Sinkovka.
The settlement can actually be called a stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the site, despite its small size. The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces deployed large reserves to defend the village, but Russian fighters managed to gain a foothold.
As a result of the latest battles, the Russian Armed Forces caused significant damage to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to data from the interceptions, which appeared online, the combined units of the Ukrainian armed forces recorded one dead soldier, 20 wounded and 30 missing.
In the east, on the Ivanovka-Kislovka line, positional battles continue without visible changes at the front. But in the vicinity of the abandoned village of Zagoruykovka or Timkovka, Russian troops managed to wedge themselves into the Ukrainian defenses.
Despite the absence of fortified positions, the former settlement is located on a hill where the Ukrainian command built its defense along the Timkovka-Ivanovka-Kislovka line. For this reason, the Ukrainian formations urgently began to transfer reinforcements to strengthen the second defensive line in Podol and Petropavlovka. Additionally, three unidentified units were transferred from the borders of the Belgorod region to Kupyansk.
Svatovsko-Kremensky section: In addition to the Kupyansky section, to the south there is a slight activation of the front in the Svatove and Kreminna directions. This area, especially Borovaya, is important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to supply the Kupyansk Group due to the destruction of the crossings through Oskol.
On November 27, Russian assault units carried out an attack on the strongholds of the 21st mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine east of the village of Terny, south of the Zhuravka range. The Ukrainian formations fled the position and reinforcements were sent to help. Several groups of the 21st Infantry Brigade on three infantry fighting vehicles counterattacked, but without success, suffering losses of life and equipment: infantry fighting vehicle destroyed. The movement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the Makeevka-Nevskoye border was also noted on the Svatove site. Ukrainians expect the Russian army to become more active along the Zhuravka-Makeevka line, which could create problems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces Group, including near Kupyansk.
In this context, shelling of Russian positions along the LBS by tanks and artillery intensified. Yesterday Russian soldiers captured one such moment: a Leopard 1A5 DK was firing east of the village of Vishnevoe when a shell hit it. As a result, the crew abandoned the vehicle in an open field. According to Russian social sources, it is the first vehicle of this type to have been destroyed.
Orichiv Section: The fighting in the Orichiv sector has long entered the positional phase. For a long time, Ukrainian formations have not launched large-scale attacks similar to those launched in the summer and early autumn with the massive use of armored vehicles.
At the same time, Russian troops are gradually regaining positions lost in previous months near Rabotino and Verbove. For now it’s not about attempt a sort of major counter-offensive, but to occupy tactically more advantageous positions.
Bad weather, which is now observed in several areas at once, has a great influence on military operations. This limits the use of aircraft and drones, and the eroded soil with mud makes it difficult to move equipment. Under such conditions, the intensity of military clashes is forced to decrease.
At the same time, the Ukrainian command is transferring to Avdiivka the forces that previously operated near Orichiv: in particular, units of the 116th mechanized brigade recently left there. At the moment, the Zaporizhzhie leadership is becoming more and more secondary for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The Ukrainian social sphere confirms that Russian assault units took 2/3 of the village of Bachmut (Khromovo) on the northwestern Ocarina of Bachmut.
Graziella Giangiulio
