The situation at the front
The difficult situation in the vicinity of Bakhmut persists, but the area remains under the control of the Ukrainian military. In this direction, they are opposed by Wagner mercenaries and units of the Russian army.
Ukrainian forces continue to advance in the Svatovo region, but the mud and the additional strengthening of Russian positions slowed down their advance, writes the WarMonitor project. The military commander of the KP Alexander Kots on video convinces the mobilized that in everyday life near Svatovo everything is not so bad, you can even wash things, only “with drying problems”:
In the Ugledar direction, Russian forces have captured half of the strategically important city of Marinka, writes German journalist Julian Repke. Maryinka is a city in the south of the Donetsk region, opening the way to the Ugledar ledge and the road to the Donbass. The networks publish a video illustrating the situation in the city:
Telegram channels publish a video that a Russian military man recorded for his girlfriend. In the video, he talks about how they will go on the offensive on the 31st. “Everyone, of course, believes that this is a fucking idea, because we will go across the field without equipment and support. This is a complete f * ck. Had I known that this would happen here, I would never have fit in. What fathers are commanders, what is the situation, ”he says.
Blackout in Ukraine and Moldova
Russia has again struck at Ukrainian energy facilities. As a result of shelling on November 23, interruptions began in the work of all operating nuclear power plants controlled by Kyiv. The power units of the South Ukrainian and Khmelnytsky NPPs were switched off, the Rivne NPP was put into emergency mode. Energoatom said that the radiation background at the shutdown nuclear power plants has not changed.
Emergency power outages have been introduced in almost all regions of Ukraine. Kyiv is almost completely plunged into darkness, there is no water in the city. The metro operates on a limited basis.
The light disappeared also in the Chernihiv region, Nikolaev, Odessa, Khmelnitsky and Lvov. Electric transport stopped running in Kharkiv. The head of the Kirovograd region announced explosions at a critical infrastructure facility. Ukrenergo reports that there will be no electricity for about a day.
Due to Russian strikes on Ukraine, half of the territory of Moldova also remained without electricity. In Chisinau, this led to a transport collapse.
“We cannot trust a regime that leaves us in the dark and cold, that deliberately kills people out of a simple desire to leave other people poor and humble. No matter how hard it is now, our only path, the future path of the Republic of Moldova, must lead to a free world,” President Maia Sandu commented on the blackout.
Maps illustrating the electrical connections of Ukraine and a close-up of connections through Moldova:
On November 18, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal stated that due to massive missile strikes, almost half of the energy system of Ukraine was disabled. In early November, the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, warned that the city authorities were preparing for the worst scenario in winter: a complete lack of electricity, water and heat supply. At the end of October, due to massive shelling of the energy infrastructure in Ukraine, emergency power outages were introduced.
Shelling victims
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko has reported three dead as a result of shelling. Among the dead is a 17-year-old girl. Another 11 civilians were injured, one of them was treated by doctors on the spot, the rest were hospitalized. In total, according to Klitschko, 31 rockets flew to Kyiv, 21 were shot down. In total, on November 23, Russia fired 70 cruise missiles at Ukraine, 51 of them were shot down by Ukrainian air defense.
On the night of November 23, in the city of Volnyansk, Zaporozhye region, a maternity ward of a hospital was destroyed as a result of a missile strike, and a baby died.
Around 07:40 in the morning, the city of Kupyansk in the Kharkov region was shelled. As a result, a nine-story residential building, a polyclinic building and a school were damaged. Two people died: a 55-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man, one person was hospitalized, another was treated on the spot.
In total, multiple explosions were heard in more than 16 cities of Ukraine as a result of Russian missile strikes:
Exchange of prisoners
36 Ukrainians returned home from Russian captivity. Among the released are the soldiers who defended Mariupol, who were on the Azovstal, as well as the National Guardsmen captured at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the first days of the invasion.
New deliveries of weapons and equipment
For the first time, the UK will supply Ukraine with three Sea King helicopters as part of military assistance and 10,000 artillery shells. Over the past six weeks, Ukrainian crews have been trained in Britain, including for search and rescue operations.
A new $400 million aid package is being handed over to Ukraine by the United States, and here is what it will include:
- ammunition for NASAMS and HIMARS;
- 150 heavy machine guns with thermal imaging sights to combat UAVs (UAS);
- 200 high-precision artillery shells of 155 mm caliber;
- 10,000 120mm mortar shells;
- high-velocity anti-radar missiles (HARM);
- 150 HMMWV vehicles;
- over 100 light tactical vehicles;
- over 20,000,000 small arms ammunition;
- more than 200 generators;
- spare parts for 105-mm howitzers and other equipment.
Movement on the ammonia pipeline
On November 23, Vladimir Putin and the founder of Uralchem, Dmitry Mazepin, discussed the unblocking of the ammonia pipeline from Tolyatti to Odessa. Mazepin asked Putin to help ensure that, as part of the grain deal, temporarily open and provide drainage and transportation of ammonia in Odessa, which can also go to developing countries, including Africa. “ The parameters are there, the figures are known, the volumes are clear. The payoff for all participants in this process is also clear, ” Putin said.
In September, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war a condition for the resumption of the transit of Russian fertilizers through the Togliati-Odessa ammonia pipeline. “I am against the supply of ammonia from the Russian Federation through our territory. I would only do this in exchange for our prisoners. That is what I proposed to the UN,” he said. The Kremlin then reacted negatively to this proposal. “Are people and ammonia the same thing?” Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with TASS.
Ammonia is the main component in the production of nitrate fertilizers, and an increase in its supply to the world market can reduce its prices and mitigate the risks of a food crisis in a number of countries.
In Ukraine, there is the only ammonia pipeline "Tolyatti-Odessa", the end point of which is the Odessa Port Plant. Before the start of the war on February 24, this pipeline exported ammonia produced by Russian PJSC Togliattiazot (owned by Russian oligarch Dmitry Mazepin) and JSC Minudobreniya (owned by Russian oligarch Arkady Rotenberg).
On February 24, the supply of ammonia through the pipeline ceased. Now, against the backdrop of recent threats by Russian President Vladimir Putin to break the "grain agreement" that unlocked the export of Ukrainian grain, the UN wants to resume the supply of Russian ammonia for export.
See also The Insider’s military report for November 22: “Road from Crimea under HIMARS control, tanks getting stuck in the mud, case against the executed Russian military. What's going on at the front .
