1700219467 Ukraine is constantly getting stronger – Update on the war

“Ukraine is constantly getting stronger” – Update on the war in Ukraine from November 17th (Europe edition) – Kyiv Post

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Overview:

  • Zelensky estimates that the enemy has fewer missiles than last year and Ukraine’s air defense has improved
  • Three dead, several injured in shelling in Kherson
  • Small Russian gains were confirmed north of Avdiivka
  • AFU gains along the Donetsk-Zaporizhia border
  • Britain says Moscow will suffer heavy casualties if it attacks the Avdiivka power plant
  • The US Treasury Department is imposing new sanctions on Russian oil transporters and Balkan politicians
  • The EU is expected to ban the sale of precision machines to Russia

Artillery from the left bank of the Dnipro kills and injures more civilians and knocks out the power supply

A day after four people were killed in Russian attacks in the southern regions, three more civilians were killed in Kherson on Thursday after the city came under Russian fire from the left bank of the Dnipro River.

Mortar shells hit civilian targets, including at least one apartment building in Kherson, on Thursday morning, killing a 68-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Later that afternoon, Russian artillery rained down on the town of Biloserka, about eight kilometers west of Kherson, killing one person and wounding many others, sending six to hospital, including a teenager. As a result, the area also lost electricity.

“We are doing better in terms of air defense than last year,” the president told reporters

At a meeting with the press on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was stockpiling missiles for winter attacks on infrastructure, but that Ukraine was better prepared for the expected attack than last year.

“In my opinion they are increasing [missiles]but that they don’t have many more missiles than before,” AFP quoted the president as saying.

After airstrikes on the country’s power grid last winter left millions without power and heating, Kiev stepped up its campaign for more land-to-air missiles and other defense systems to intercept incoming missiles and drones.

“As far as air defense is concerned, we are better than last winter,” Zelensky said, adding that preparedness on the ground is now increased for outages, with more shelters and charging stations for those experiencing power outages at home. “The winter will be difficult, but no worse than last year.”

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Germany, meanwhile, said this week that the EU would not meet its one-year target of sending one million artillery shells to Ukraine as the bloc struggled to secure arms supplies to Kiev.

The president acknowledged that there are still gaps in Ukraine’s air defense, particularly around the heavily shelled areas of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, AFP reported.

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Tech billionaire and space enthusiast Elon Muskwho also engages in right-wing political scholarship, said in an interview this week that Zelensky “has been living in his butcher’s world for a long time”:

Operations: Avdiivka

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces continued offensive operations near Avdiivka and made proven gains, although the exact date of these advances is unclear. Geolocated footage released Thursday suggested Moscow’s troops advanced slightly north of the famous Avdiivka coking plant, northwest of the city.

Russian mibloggers claimed that Russian forces had taken up several positions near the Avdiivka plant and the nearby Terrikon slag dump, and that Stepove (8 kilometers / 5 miles northwest of Avdiivka) was now a disputed “gray zone.”

Other Kremlin-linked bloggers claimed on Thursday that Russian forces had also advanced northwest of Krasnohorivka (5 kilometers north of Avdiivka) towards Berdychi (5 kilometers northwest of Avdiivka).

Operations: Donetsk-Zaporizhia border

The ISW also reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) launched attacks along the regional border between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia on Thursday and made confirmed advances, but again the exact timing of these successes is unclear.

Geolocated footage released on Thursday shows Ukrainian troops pushing back Russian attacks west of Novodonetske (12 kilometers southeast of Velyka Novosilka), confirming that Kiev forces have recaptured some local positions.

The British Ministry of Defense expects high Russian losses

A Twitter update from the UK Ministry of Defense predicted that Russian forces would suffer “significant” losses in the battle for the Avdiivka coke and chemical plant.

The city’s factory and slag heap have been the focus of fierce fighting for months as Moscow’s troops try to encircle the strategically important fortress 12 kilometers (8 miles) from the occupied city of Donetsk.

The British ministry described Russia’s tactical maneuvers to encircle the city as signs of a “pincer movement.” Russian troops have advanced into the northern outskirts in the past few days, but overtaking the coking plant would be too big a task, the ministry said.

“The industrial facility provides Ukraine with a local defense advantage and Russian forces are likely to suffer significant personnel losses if they attempt to attack the facility,” the statement said.

The US imposes sanctions on oil price evaders and Russian-backed activists in Europe

The U.S. Treasury Department cracked down Thursday on groups violating price caps on transported Russian oil and Kremlin-backed influence traders in the Balkans, the Associated Press reported.

The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on three companies based in the United Arab Emirates, as well as eight individuals and six companies in several Balkan countries.

The oil transporters used American service providers to deliver Russian crude oil at a price above the international price cap of $60 a barrel, intended to limit Moscow’s revenue to finance its invasion of Ukraine.

The group of people in the Balkans – from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and other countries – were hit with sanctions for corruption and trying to stop local governments from joining Western organizations.

They were described as Moscow-funded local politicians and mafia leaders who would “use key jurisdictions to facilitate.” [Russia’s] aggressive destabilizing activities.”

The European Union is likely to block shipments of weapons-making machines to Russia

Bloomberg News reported this week that the EU was poised to ban the export of precision machinery and parts that Russia allegedly uses in the manufacture of weapons and ammunition. Supposedly they are also used in drone engines, among other dual-use products.

If passed, the measure would represent the EU’s 12th round of sanctions aimed at curbing Russia’s military supplies.

John Moretti

John Moretti

John Moretti is a freelance journalist and author who divides his time between Europe and the United States. He has also spent more than a decade working with companies protecting travelers from health and safety emergencies abroad. His academic background is in Eastern European studies, international public policy and counterterrorism.