Ukraine Daily
Sunday, November 20
Russia’s war against Ukraine
A local man awaits the arrival of the first passenger train to come to the liberated Kherson since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, on the morning of Nov. 19. (Iryna Matviyishyn)
First passenger train arrives in Kherson from Kyiv since the start of invasion. The overnight sleeper train departed from Kyiv on the evening of Nov. 18, with 200 passengers on board.
Russia strikes humanitarian distribution point in Kherson Oblast. Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported on Nov. 19 that Russian forces fired at a humanitarian distribution point giving out bread in Bilozerka, Kherson Oblast, injuring five people.
Evacuation begins from recently liberated settlements in Ukraine’s south. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on Nov. 19 that Ukraine begins voluntary evacuation from the recently liberated territories in Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts.
General Staff: Increased number of Russian troops seen in occupied Luhansk. The General Staff provided no details but said that the increased number of Russian soldiers is seen in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk.
Ukraine returns 3 marines from Russian captivity. Three Ukrainian military personnel were released from Russian captivity and returned from occupied Ukrainian territory on Nov. 19, according to Ukraine’s Naval Forces.
Washington Post: Iran to help Russia manufacture ‘weaponized’ drones for war in Ukraine. The Washington Post reports citing some new intelligence seen by the U.S. and other Western security agencies that Iran and Russia have “quietly” reached an agreement to begin assembling “hundreds of unmanned weaponized aircraft” in Russia.
German Embassy: Gepard anti-aircraft guns help Ukraine take down Iranian drones. Ukraine has received 30 Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns from Germany since Russia started its full-scale invasion in February, the German Embassy in Ukraine said on Nov. 19.
Independent Russian media: Number of Russia’s inmates shrinks sharply as prisoners are recruited to fight in Ukraine. The number of Russian inmates went down by 23,000 in just two months. It has never decreased so sharply even during amnesties, according to Mediazona.
UK defense ministry: Russia’s record debt issuance indicates expectation of fiscal instability. Russia’s declared defense spending for 2023 is now planned at a more than 40% increase on the preliminary 2023 budget announced in 2021.
Zelensky: Russia looks for a short truce to regain strength. “Immoral compromises will lead to more blood,” Zelensky told the Halifax International Security Forum in an online address.
Read our exclusives
**Families reunite through tears and smiles at Kherson central station.
**For the first time since Feb. 24, Ukraine’s state railway operator’s service to recently liberated Kherson was restored.
PM Sunak in Kyiv: ‘We are with you all the way’
Rishi Sunak conducted his first official visit to Ukraine as prime minister, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Nov. 19.
How protests in Iran may affect war in Ukraine
Experts are skeptical that nationwide protests in Iran will affect the course of Russia’s war in Ukraine in the near future.
The human cost of Russia’s war
Russian missile attack on Nov. 18 kills 1 person in Zaporizhzhia. Russian forces attacked Zaporizhzhia overnight on Nov. 18, killing one person and disrupting the supply of heat to one of the city’s districts, reported the Zaporizhzhia Oblast Prosecutor’s Office. Over 17,000 residents were cut off from heat.
Over 700 dead bodies found in liberated territories of Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson oblasts. According to Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, almost 90% of the bodies found in liberated settlements of Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kherson oblasts are civilians.
Prosecutor General’s Office: Russia’s war has killed over 8,000 civilians. Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed 8,311 civilians, including 437 children, and injured more than 11,000 since Feb. 24, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said on television on Nov. 19, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
General Staff: Russia has lost 83,880 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. According to the newest update of Ukraine’s official count, Russia has lost 420 more troops.
International response
UK to provide Ukraine with $59 million defense aid package. U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Nov. 19 that the package will include 125 anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter Iranian drones, including radars and anti-drone electronic warfare capability.
US to provide up to $20 million for ‘Grain from Ukraine’ initiative. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said the support for the initiative announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky at the G20 summit on Nov. 15 will help deliver grain to the “world’s most vulnerable.”
Estonia to provide Ukraine with 27 buses, 13 electric generators. Estonia is sending buses to help Ukraine “restore its transport services,” as well as electric generators to “help schools and children’s institutions operating in Ukraine’s shelters,” the Estonian ERR media outlet reported on Nov. 19.
Estonia’s President: Russia’s defeat should not incite concern. Addressing the Halifax International Security Forum, Estonian President Alar Karis said the negative impacts on Russia should it lose its full-scale war should be of no concern to the West.
Lithuanians crowdfund for 2 maritime drones for Ukraine. The Lithuanian public have crowdfunded $250,000 to purchase a second maritime drone for Ukraine, and started the campaign for the third drone.
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