Tuesday, November 12

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Three children and a woman were killed when a high-rise residential building in Kryvyi Rih was hit by a Russian missile on Nov. 11, local authorities said. (X / President Zelensky)

Ukraine holds off nearly 50,000 Russian troops in Kursk Oblast, Zelensky says. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement came a day after The New York Times reported that Moscow is preparing to launch an offensive in Kursk Oblast with a force of 50,000 soldiers, both Russian and North Korean.

Russian attack in Zaporizhzhia Oblast expected ‘any day,’ military says. “(The assaults) could begin in the near future, we’re not even talking about weeks, we’re expecting it to happen any day,” said Vladyslav Voloshyn, Ukrainian military’s Southern Command spokesperson.

Russian forces damage Kurakhove Reservoir dam in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine says. “This attack potentially threatens residents of settlements on the Vovcha River, both in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts,” Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin said.

Video shows Russian Mi-24 attack helicopter set ablaze at Moscow Oblast airport, HUR claims. In a post on Telegram, HUR said the aircraft was attacked at the Klin-5 airbase overnight on Nov. 9-10, and attached a video allegedly showing it on fire.

Russian training exercise sparks mass air strike alert across Ukraine. In Kyiv and cities across Ukraine, sirens sounded, people headed to shelters, and emergency blackouts were introduced.

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Putin hopes to recapture lost territory before Trump’s inauguration. NATO allies believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is aiming to recapture territory lost to Ukraine in the Kursk region before Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

‘Pure fiction’ — Kremlin denies Putin and Trump discussed Ukraine by phone after election victory. A report had claimed Trump advised Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

North Korea ratifies defense treaty with Russia. North Korea has formalized a mutual defense treaty with Russia, according to state media reports on Nov. 12. The agreement commits both nations to come to each other’s aid in the event of an armed attack.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russian forces damage Kurakhove Reservoir dam in Donetsk Oblast, Kyiv says

Russian forces damaged the dam holding the Kurakhove Reservoir in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 11, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported. Filashkin’s statement came after multiple reports of the dam being attacked near the village of Stari Terny, some 25 kilometers from the embattled town of Kurakhove.

Photo: Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

If Georgian Dream stays its course, we can’t consider them a democratic partner, expert says

Georgia’s parliamentary elections were presented as a choice between a creeping authoritarianism and a drift into the Kremlin’s orbit on one hand and Georgia’s EU aspirations on the other. A group of pro-European parties hoped to unseat the Georgian Dream, a party led by a controversial oligarch.

Photo: Diego Fedele/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian missile strike on high-rise building in Kryvyi Rih kills 4, including 3 children. The missile hit the building between the first and fifth floor, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Serhiy Lysak reported. First responders retrieved the body of a woman from the rubble at around 11 p.m. local time.

2 Ukrainian POWs allegedly killed by Russian forces in Kursk Oblast, Prosecutor General’s Office reports. Reports of murders, torture, and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war are received regularly by Ukrainian authorities and have spiked in recent months. Most cases were recorded in embattled Donetsk Oblast.

Opinions and insights

McBride: Western inaction on Ukraine’s security guarantees opens door to global nuclear proliferation

“If membership remains out of reach, Ukraine may restart its nuclear program, triggering a domino effect of nuclear proliferation — a consequence the West would directly bear due to its failure to manage escalation,” writes journalist Julian McBride.

Photo: Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images

Ash: Trump holds all the cards in Ukraine’s peace gamble — will he use them?

“Ukraine, despite having no navy, has managed to defeat Russia’s Black Sea fleet, forcing it to flee Crimea’s Sevastopol naval base and significantly limiting its ability to operate in the Black Sea,” writes Timothy Ash, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

International response

Trump’s Ukraine policy should not be prejudged, French foreign minister cautions. Jean-Noel Barrot said Kyiv’s Western allies needed to do everything they could to ensure Ukraine entered any future peace negotiations in the strongest position possible.

UK, France to discuss how to persuade Biden to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, Telegraph reports. British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron hope President Joe Biden will give the approval sought by Kyiv for months as a step towards cementing his foreign policy legacy.

Polish PM to hold talks with leaders of UK, France, NATO on protecting Ukraine after Trump victory. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he intends to hold talks with his British counterpart Sir Keir Starmer in the coming days.

Trump picks Mike Waltz as national security adviser amid shifting Ukraine policy, Politico reports. Rep. Mike Waltz has reservations about continued extensive U.S. military aid to Ukraine, arguing that European countries should increase their support to ensure regional stability.

Trump nominates new US ambassador to UN with mixed record on Ukraine aid. U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, according to a statement on Nov. 10.

Estonia announces new military aid package for Ukraine. Estonia’s Defense Minister, Hanno Pevkur, visited Kyiv on Nov. 11, where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky and announced a new aid package for Ukraine, Pevkur said on X.

EU has delivered over 980,000 shells to Ukraine out of pledged one million, Borrell says. Throughout 2024, the European Union has delivered 980,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the one million initially promised, the European Union’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Nov. 11.

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