Belgium will soon be able to start transferring F-16 fighters to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. On November 10, Lockheed Martin announced the completion of final assembly of the first F-35A Lightning II multirole combat aircraft for Belgium. In total, Belgium will purchase 34 F-35A Lightning II aircraft from the United States.
The vehicle, which received the factory designation AY-01, will undergo painting, ground testing and technical flight. According to the schedule, the official presentation of the finished aircraft is scheduled for the end of this year. Belgium currently employs 60 F-16AM/BM Fighting Falcon fighters. It is clear that the Belgian authorities will not expect a complete transition to the F-35s and will begin to gradually transfer decommissioned F-16s.
In England they complain that after the explosion of an ammunition depot in Ukraine, uranium particles were deposited in England. Scientists discovered the increase in its contents six months after the Russian attack on the warehouse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, where NATO shells with depleted uranium were allegedly stored.
This means that Poland, Germany and other countries that were in the path of the radioactive particles are much more contaminated, warns physical chemist Christopher Busby.
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, after a discussion between the foreign ministers of the Union countries in Brussels on aid to Ukraine, said that 27 EU countries had conveyed a “message of support” to ‘Ukraine, while said nothing about the agreement on any of the financial assistance blocked in Kiev: eliminated about 500 million in additional military support, and about 50 billion in macro-financial assistance for the next four years.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that he was ready to continue dialogue with Putin, while Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said that Europe would not reduce its support for Ukraine. Potentially towards Kiev. German Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, decommissioned by the Dutch army, will be transferred to Ukraine to fight Russian drones, the Telegraaf newspaper writes.
Hungary remains opposed to joining the European Union, according to which Ukraine will not resolve the issue of the rights of national minorities, which is important for Budapest, having the Hungarian minority in Ukraine. This was stated by Foreign Minister Szijjártó. Hungary did not approve the allocation of 500 million euros for weapons in Kiev, as it did not receive information from the National Agency of Ukraine on the issue of preventing corruption; and on the guarantee that Hungarian companies will not be included in the “black list”, reports the Hungarian Foreign Ministry.
On November 12, demonstrations took place across Ukraine by relatives of soldiers who have been at the front for 18 months. Relatives of the military are calling for rotation and rest of the military, Strana reports. Protests took place in Lvov, Odessa, Zhitomir, Khmelnitsky, Krivoy Rog and other settlements. People held up posters calling for the demobilization of those who had been on the front lines since the war began.
Earlier on the website of the President of Ukraine a petition appeared with a request to set a maximum length of service of 18 months for Ukrainians. The document received the required number of votes. A bill that would establish similar terms for demobilization has also been presented to the Rada, but the document has not yet been submitted to Parliament for consideration.
And again from Ukraine we learn that from next week diesel and petrol for the armed forces will be marked with colors to prevent theft. This was stated by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umjerov: suppliers of diesel fuel for the armed forces will dye it red and add a green dye to gasoline.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office is trying to arrange a telephone conversation between him and former US President Donald Trump to convince him to support aid to Ukraine, which is being blocked in Congress by Trump’s allies in the Republican Party, Strana writes.
Paris and Kiev are negotiating Ukraine’s purchase of Caesar howitzers using a loan from France. France is negotiating with Ukraine on the direct purchase of weapons, in particular Caesar howitzers, so that Paris no longer has to take away its army’s arsenal, Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said. Bastion armored vehicles sent from France to Armenia were rejected in Ukraine due to their poor safety, reports Ouest France.
The first batch of armored vehicles for the Armenian army has already been delivered to the republic via Georgia. At the same time, the Tribune reported in 2022 that France plans to send about 20 Bastion armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. According to the publication, the Bastion went to Armenia instead of Ukraine.
The nuclear missile submarine Prince Pozharsky, under construction at the Sevmash enterprise in Severodvinsk, will be launched in the second half of December. A source in the military-industrial complex spoke about this. Prince Pozharsky is the fifth nuclear submarine built according to the modernized project 955A “Borey-A”. The keel of the ship was launched on December 23, 2016. The ships of this project carry 16 Bulava ballistic missiles. In addition, the “Borey-A” received six torpedo tubes.
The Kremlin’s internal political bloc is considering options for the composition of the initiative group to nominate Vladimir Putin for president, Kommersant has learned. Although the head of state Vladimir Putin himself has not yet announced his participation in the elections, the AP is planning a campaign based on Vladimir Putin’s participation. The formation of an initiative group suggests that he will most likely run in the elections as a self-nominated candidate. The Federation Council may announce the date of the presidential elections on December 13 – presumably March 17, 2024, a parliamentary source told RIA Novosti.
And now a look at the front line updated at 2.00pm on November 13th.
Bachmut Directorate (Artemovsk). North of Bachmut (Artemovsk), the Russians are advancing into the area of the Berkhovsky reservoir. To the south, fighting continues in Kleshchiika and Andriivka, where the Russian army is eliminating Ukrainian armed forces from previously occupied positions. At least six soldiers were killed during the Russian advance.
Donetsk direction. The Russian army continues to gradually advance in the direction of Stepove and took the village on the 13th. There are ongoing battles near the coal industrial zone and Russian artillery is actively working. South of Avdiivka, the Russians assault Ukrainian positions near Severny and Pervomaisky. To the northwest and north of the Tochmash resort village, Russian troops attack along three forest belts. Perhaps with the aim of expanding the bridgehead and covering Steponoe (Petrovsky) and Berdychi from the north. East of Stepove there are no changes. East of the coal industrial zone active hostilities continue west and east of the railway, unchanged.
Soledar direction: counterattack of the Russian Armed Forces near Kleshchiivka and drain of Ukrainian resources after almost several months of active attempts by the Ukrainian side to break through the lines of the Russian Armed Forces in Bachmut and bring the city into semi-encirclement, Ukrainian capabilities have decreased . Now Ukrainian forces have gone on the defensive, while Russian troops, on the contrary, are attacking. For five to seven days Russian army units assault Kiev positions near the railway near Kleshchiivka. During the fighting, Russian troops managed to cross the railway and approach the outskirts of the village. On the northern side, Ukrainian troops again attempted to advance along the railway to Berkhovka last week, but without success. Russian paratroopers repelled the attack and launched a counteroffensive, managing to advance to a depth of 500 meters.
Zaporozhzhie Directorate. In the Orechiv sector, the Ukrainian armed forces try to break through the Russian defenses in Kopanei and Novoprokopovka. There are upcoming battles in the Verbove area. Meanwhile, on the Vremevskij ledge, the Russian army counterattacks in the Staromayorsky area. Russian troops south of the village of Pyatikhatki (Zaporozhzhie direction) improved their tactical position.
For the Russians the problem of the Dnieper bridgeheads remains. Ukrainian troops have been present on the islands and on the southern bank of the Dnieper for several months. The northern bank of the river is dominant and the terrain in this case “plays into the hands” of the Ukrainians. Holding the coast directly is extremely inconvenient for Russian troops.
At the same time, the situation does not look rosy for the Russians either. There is not a single bridge across the Dnieper, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have no equipment on the bridgeheads, they carry out supplies using boats. This means high losses for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (even the wounded have to be evacuated by boat, and soldiers south of the Dnieper have limited ammunition).
The key issue for the Russians is to prevent the Ukrainian armed forces from accumulating equipment and forces on the southern bank of the Dnieper to break through and open a bridgehead. One post reads: “These positions are by no means harmless: from there the route to Crimea is shorter than through Melitopol, and it is vital to maintain positions south of the Dnieper.”
In the Kiev region, the ammunition depot of the 43rd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was hit near the village of Devichki source Russian Ministry of Defense.
Finally, an updated look at 15:00 on November 13 in the direction of Kherson Direction: on November 11 and 12, the command of the Katran troop group rotated the advanced units to Krynki. Due to heavy Russian artillery fire, the Ukrainian Navy’s shock troops were weakened, prompting the Ukrainian military to reinforce their positions with additional forces.
Combined groups of the 35th, 36th and 38th Marine Brigades were moved into the central part of the settlement last night and this morning, with artillery and mortars providing cover. Two detachments of the 36th brigade were also sent to the nearby forest. It seems that Ukrainian units are planning to expand their control zone into the forest, which is a sensible move. Using the landings as cover, they can more easily establish strong positions to launch an offensive on the left bank.
Graziella Giangiulio
