Here is the situation on Monday, November 14, 2023. (629 Day)
A Russian rocket and artillery attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson resulted in two fatalities and at least 11 injuries. The assault caused significant damage to a hospital and over a dozen homes. According to local governor Oleksandr Prokudin, a family returning home from a medical appointment was also struck by artillery fire, leading to the death of one man and injuring a two-month-old baby.
Russian military bloggers have reported that Ukrainian troops successfully secured a foothold on the occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the village of Krynky, approximately 35 km (22 miles) upstream from Kherson. The Kremlin chose not to comment on the situation, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating, “We do not comment on the course of the special military operation itself; that is the prerogative of our specialists, our military.” This advancement marks a significant breakthrough for Kyiv.
Contrary to this, Russia’s defense ministry dismissed reports from state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS regarding troop movements in Ukraine as “false” and a “provocation.” The agencies initially reported that Russian troops were being relocated to “more favorable positions” east of the Dnipro River but swiftly removed the alerts after publishing them.
In the realm of politics and diplomacy, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Washington, DC. During the meeting, Blinken assured sustained US support for Ukraine and discussed collaborative efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s infrastructure for the upcoming winter. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller noted, “We, of course, in the last winter saw Russia trying to take down energy sites in Ukraine. They may very well do that again.”
Russian military bloggers have reported that Ukrainian troops successfully secured a foothold on the occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the village of Krynky, approximately 35 km (22 miles) upstream from Kherson. The Kremlin chose not to comment on the situation, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov stating, “We do not comment on the course of the special military operation itself; that is the prerogative of our specialists, our military.” This advancement marks a significant breakthrough for Kyiv.
Contrary to this, Russia’s defense ministry dismissed reports from state news agencies RIA Novosti and TASS regarding troop movements in Ukraine as “false” and a “provocation.” The agencies initially reported that Russian troops were being relocated to “more favorable positions” east of the Dnipro River but swiftly removed the alerts after publishing them.
In the realm of politics and diplomacy, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Andriy Yermak, a top aide to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in Washington, DC. During the meeting, Blinken assured sustained US support for Ukraine and discussed collaborative efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s infrastructure for the upcoming winter. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller noted, “We, of course, in the last winter saw Russia trying to take down energy sites in Ukraine. They may very well do that again.”
Lawyers representing Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko, facing a potential eight-year prison sentence for swapping supermarket price tags with demands for an end to the war in Ukraine, argued in court that the 33-year-old would not survive a jail term and should be released. Skochilenko, also known as Sasha, has already spent over 18 months in jail in St Petersburg and denies the formal charge of knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army.
In the realm of weapons, Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that the country would block the disbursement of the next tranche of military aid to Ukraine under the European Peace Facility (EPF). Hungary seeks “guarantees” from Kyiv that OTP bank or other Hungarian firms will not be blacklisted as “international sponsors of war.”
A report from the Washington, DC-based Institute for Science and International Security revealed that Russia is making progress in constructing a factory for mass-producing Iranian-designed Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES
