There is an increasingly widespread prediction among Western officials that the conflict in Ukraine will last another five years, writes the British edition of the Economist.
According to the UN: “Ukraine near Kharkov has violated the convention banning anti-personnel mines.” Mark Hizney, member of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), announced this on November 14, during the presentation of the Landmine Monitor 2023 report, underlining that “Kiev has violated the Ottawa Convention which prohibits anti-personnel mines during hostilities. He said that the use of prohibited weapons by the Ukrainian side was recorded in the city of Izyum, Kharkov region. Evidence of the use of these mines is also available in Donetsk. There, local residents filmed themselves picking up anti-tank mines or shooting at them.”
From the United States comes news, source Newsweek, that “the war in Ukraine is “not going very well” due to delays in Western aid, and the problem with the distribution of American aid in Kiev will probably get worse, an insider said anonymously by Congressional staff. “Let’s face it: the war isn’t going very well. For Ukraine to win in a way that is clearly a victory and not something that we are just trying to pretend is a victory, the United States must not only stay the course, but it must accelerate it by an order of magnitude. Unfortunately, I don’t think we will. “This is a level of commitment and clear leadership against a threat that we perhaps haven’t seen in America since the end of the Cold War,” the US weekly’s source said.
Former US Secretary of State (2018-2021) and former head of the CIA (2017-2018) Mike Pompeo will join the board of directors of one of the largest mobile operators in Ukraine, Kyivstar. The White House also refused to clarify whether measures will be taken against Ukraine if its involvement in the Nord Stream attacks is confirmed.
CNN on November 15 states that Joe Biden is ready to sign a US government financing bill that does not include funds for Ukraine and Israel.
The EU plans to impose sanctions against 47 individuals and 72 legal entities as part of the 12th package of restrictions against the Russian Federation source Reuters. Regarding ammunition for Kiev: “The European Union does not have “its own ammunition depot” for Ukraine,” Borrell said. These words were echoed by those of the German defense minister, Boris Pistorius: “The EU’s goal of transferring one million ammunition to Kiev is unattainable.” Not only are there no specifications on the delivery time of the first F-16s to Ukraine, these are complex machines, pilot training will take a long time,” Borrell said
Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins, in a conversation with Russian comedians Vladimir Kuznetsov (Vovan) and Alexey Stolyarov (Lexus), admitted that the aid provided to Ukraine “is not welcome”, but that “there is no other choice in sight.” Vovan and Lexus called the head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry on behalf of a senior African official. A recording of the conversation was published on the two comedians’ Telegram channel. “We helped them rebuild. We helped them with weapons. We helped them in every way possible. It’s humanitarian aid, medicine, everything, everything. And we’re not happy about it, but we don’t see any other choice,” the Minister.
Ukraine’s economy slumped 29% in 2022 and grew 4.1% in 2023, thanks to an excellent harvest and support from partners, according to the European Commission
Ukrainian Air Force Command Advisor Yuriy Ignat denied his claim about starting training of Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighters in Romania; according to him, construction of a flight base has just begun in the future training center. Ignat said last November 10 that the training of Ukrainian armed forces pilots on F-16s was proceeding according to plan; according to him, some pilots were already carrying out flight training, accompanied by instructors. Dutch Defense Minister Kaisa Ollongren previously said the country had sent five of its F-16 fighter jets to Romania on November 7 to train Ukrainian pilots. “Sometimes the statements of our Western partners need to be seen from a different perspective. The Netherlands has transferred five planes as they are switching to F-35s. They have transferred F-16s to Romania, the first batch in the center, which is in construction, so far there is no talk that there is no training for Ukrainian pilots there. This will not happen at this time, as they write or the media. They write that our falcons have already flown. A fool gets rich with thoughts, “said Ignat. He made it clear that, as far as he knows, the foundation has been laid in the center.
Ukrainian sources say that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have called for the dismissal of Valery Zaluzhny. This proposal was put forward by General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmitry Marchenko during a conversation with political scientist Vadim Kiselyov. Marchenko accused the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces of having “attacked the Russian army head-on, through minefields. The general declared that the Russian armed forces were ready for a counteroffensive.” The soldier defined the commander in chief’s proposals as irrational.
The Russian electoral process continues. Vladimir Putin, Russian President, has approved changes to the law on presidential elections. The law clarifies the provisions relating to photographic and video recordings at polling stations. They will be carried out only by those people who have the right to do so in accordance with the law, and at the same time they will be obliged to monitor the secrecy of the vote and maintain the confidentiality of personal data contained in the electoral lists and other documents. Furthermore, restrictions are introduced on filming at polling stations of military units. Only accredited media representatives will be able to carry it out there, in agreement with the unit commander. Furthermore, according to the law, only media representatives working on the basis of an employment contract will be able to participate in meetings of electoral commissions.
A complex has been installed at Sheremetyevo airport to detect drones and counteract them, with the airport itself reporting this in a press release.
From the indictments against Daria Trepova, the alleged killer of Vladlen Tatarsky, it is learned that the young woman received 132 thousand rubles for a crypto wallet in preparation for Tatarsky’s murder, the prosecutor said in court. Trepova activated a camouflaged explosive device; the explosion itself was carried out remotely from an Estonian SIM card. The process is coming to an end.
And now a look at the front line updated at 4pm on November 15th.
Bachmut Directorate (Artemovsk). North of Bachmut (Artemovsk), the Russian army has made significant progress in the area of the Berkhov reservoir. To the south in Kleshchiivka the fighting continues, Russian fighters try to shoot down the enemy from above.
Donetsk direction. In the Avdiivski sector, the Russian army continues to advance in the Stepnoy area and near Severny. There are upcoming battles near Pervomaisky. In Marinka there are battles on the western outskirts. Furthermore, o Russians register progress in the Novokalinov area.
Zaporozhizhie Directorate. Russian fighters managed to advance into the Pyatikhatki area and occupy several positions. In the Orekhovsky sector the Ukrainian armed forces continue to unsuccessfully attack Rabotino, Novoprokopovka and Verbove.
Kherson direction: narrowing of the battle zone near Krynki. The Russian group of troops “Dnepr” is conducting imminent battles in the vicinity of the village of Krynki, where almost a month ago the assault units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to enter and gain a foothold.
Although the Ukrainian armed forces managed to expand the control zone into the forest plantations south of the settlement a couple of days ago, Russian fighters drove the Ukrainian formations out of the plantations. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to attack in the east direction and expand the bridgehead, but due to the continuous attacks of the Russian Armed Forces on the Ukrainian concentration areas, such attempts are frustrated. True, Russian troops are not yet able to liberate the center of the village, even if they use cannons, rockets and Solntsepek TOS. At the same time, Russian troops thwarted subsequent attempts by the Ukrainians to land sabotage and reconnaissance groups in the areas of the Antonovsky Bridge and the Small Railway Bridge and did not allow them to advance towards Poima and Peschanovka.
Kupyansky section. Near Kupyansk, Russian troops advanced to the outskirts of Sinkovka. The command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces plans to withdraw the 32nd mechanized brigade to the rear due to critical losses; the forces of 115 mechanized brigades should be transferred to its place.
In the area of Kupyansko-Masyutovsky forest, it is also forced, due to heavy losses, to switch to the practice of creating consolidated groups of several brigades. This is what they did, for example, in the 54th and 30th separate infantry brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the Timkovka area, Russian units are advancing from both sides, trying to encircle a fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In an attempt to slow down the offensive, the Ukrainians actively use cluster munitions, which, however, do not help them much: the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 32nd brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have practically ceased to exist.
In the Ivanovka area, Russian units took another stronghold in the vicinity of the settlement. After artillery preparation, assault units of the Russian Armed Forces cleared the trenches, taking the surviving members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces prisoner.
Due to the shortage of modern artillery, the Ukrainians use all the howitzers, including the World War II-era M114s, which were supplied to them by the United States.
Graziella Giangiulio
