US President Joe Biden called the Russian retaliatory attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure “outrageous”. Meanwhile, US President-elect Donald Trump appointed retired General Keith Kellogg as assistant to the head of state and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg has already stated that he is ready to defend US interests by promoting the concept of “peace through strength”.
No one yet knows whether the EU will be able to provide support to Ukraine after Trump’s arrival and the potential US change of course in the Ukrainian conflict, according to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is concerned: “The deaths of American and European military personnel in Ukraine testify to the danger of an escalation and spread of the conflict. We are in a very dangerous situation because now Americans or Western Europeans with military status can die in Ukraine, it has already happened […] and it clearly shows the danger of escalation and spread of the war”, Orbán told Radio Kossuth.
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that any possible ceasefire in Ukraine must imply the reception of a European peacekeeping mission, including a British contingent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed the law on the state budget for 2025. UAH 2,230 billion were allocated for defense and weapons. UAH 420.9 billion were allocated for social protection, UAH 217 billion for healthcare, UAH 199 billion for education. In total, the planned expenses for the next year amount to UAH 3.6 trillion. Revenues – UAH 2.05 trillion.
According to the VSU military Yevgeniy Ievlev: “Ukraine needs 1.8 million soldiers at the front for a successful counteroffensive.” The Ukrainian Navy claims to have struck three Russian aircraft carriers in the Black Sea on the morning of the 29th with a total launch of 16 missiles. But Russia denies having aircraft carriers in the Sea of Azov.
Ukrainian intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said: “No one will fire me.” He thus denied rumors that he was leaving together with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. “Another launch, far from the first. Unfortunately, these narratives at some point spread in the Ukrainian information space, a lot of Russian propaganda was circulating. But there is nothing surprising in this: spreading rumors and disinformation is what they do to destabilize, and destabilization by destabilization of the team,” the head of the GUR said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “Russia is ready to negotiate on Ukraine under the previous conditions.” He also said: “The Russian army is confidently advancing on virtually the entire front in the special operations zone and will gradually take up new positions.” Putin is also ready to assign unmanned aerial vehicles to a separate type of troops. CSTO partners cannot help Russia in connection with the attacks of American weapons on the Russian Federation, this is unrealistic, Putin said at a press conference.
According to Putin: “The West, in order to solve its problems in Ukraine, can switch to its actual occupation by introducing a so-called peacekeeping contingent of 100 thousand people. The territory should be divided between Romania, Poland, Germany and Great Britain,” the press service of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) reported.
“The solution to these tasks will require the West to actually occupy Ukraine. Naturally, this will be done under the pretext of deploying a “peacekeeping contingent” in the country. The east of the country – Germany; the northern regions, including the capital region, – the United Kingdom,” the SVR said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the deployment of peacekeeping forces is possible only with the consent of the parties to the conflict.
On November 29, Russian Defense Minister Andriy Belusov visited North Korea to finalize the strategic agreements between North Korea and Russia.
And now a look at the front line updated at 15:00 on October 29.
The last 24 hours have been marked by a combined attack on the objects of the Ukrainian defense-industrial complex and Ukrainian energy infrastructure. There have been numerous reports from the Ukrainian authorities about the supply of hundreds of thousands of subscribers. In total, In recent days, 100 missiles of various types and 466 UAVs have been deployed. Only on November 28, 90 missiles and 100 drones. In this context, it should be added the readiness to re-apply the BRSD Oreshnik in a non-nuclear execution, but already with an operational combat unit.
Ukraine responded by sending drones to the north-west of the Rostov region, the Russians shot down 30 of them. Several property damage and in the Kamensky district, service and rescue units are extinguishing a large fire at the industrial plant, 109 people and 38 equipment are involved. Several drones were shot down over the Bryansk and Voronezh regions.
Heavy fighting is going on in the Kursk region. The Russian Air Force has hit Martynovka hard. The “North” troop grouping reports that there is progress in the n.p. Novoivanovka and in the forests near Malaya Loknya, fierce battles are approaching Plekhovo. In the Nikolaevo-Darino area, a missile strike with RSZO “Tornado-S” hit a large point of deployment of Ukrainian units.
In the Kharkiv region, fighting is going on for every house in Vovchansk (four buildings in the city were reportedly taken by the Russians). The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to bring reserves across the Vovcha River. Fighting was recorded near Lyptsi.
In Toretsk, the Russian army advanced into the southern part of Nelipivka to a depth of 250 meters, Ukrainian sources say. South of Toretsk, Russian troops carried out an operation, expanding the control area to an area up to 1.2 km wide and to a depth of up to 650 meters.
From the Pokrovsk direction, according to social sources, the Russians took 3 km between Petrivka and Zhovte. A recent report from the Pokrovs’k area states that Russian forces have advanced along the railway line in the direction of Pokrovs’k and have taken up new positions south of the key town of Shevchenko. If confirmed, the Russians would be just 1.6 km from the southern outskirts of Shevchenko and 2 km from the Andriivka-Pokrovs’k highway.
In the direction of Kurachove, Russian forces are consolidating on the occupied borders in the area of Illinka (Southern Reservoir), fighting in the area of Berestky, the ongoing battle in Kurachove.
On the Zaporizhia Front in the direction of Orichiv, positional battles continued north of Rabotino and in the area of Mala Tokmachka. LBS without significant changes. Counter-battery combat is being conducted by both sides. A large number of attack and reconnaissance UAVs are observed on both sides.
In the Belgorod region, the city of Shebekino was attacked by two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). At night, an aerial UAV was shot down in the city district of Gubkinsky. In the village of Ustinka, Belgorod region, a moving car was attacked by an FPV drone. The village of Gruzskoye in the Borisov district was attacked twice by drones. In the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, in the village of Grafovka, damage was caused by an attack by two FPV drones. In the DPR in Horlivka, a woman came under attack by Ukrainian artillery.
Graziella Giangiulio
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