Ukraine Daily

Wednesday, November 23

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Men seen playing chess with a flashlight in a park in Kyiv on Nov. 12. The Russian army carried out massive rocket and kamikaze drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. According to expert estimates, 40% of the energy infrastructure is now destroyed or damaged. (Getty Images)

Ukrenergo: Russian attacks damaged nearly every big thermal, hydroelectric station in Ukraine. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo, said that the level of damage to the energy system is “colossal.”

Zelensky: Ukraine creating ‘invincibility centers’ if Russian attacks knock power out. If massive Russian strikes continue to take place on energy infrastructure and the electricity supply cannot be restored for hours, Ukrainians will be able to access “invincibility centers” to access all basic services, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily briefing.

Interior Ministry: Russian forces kidnap Ukrainian mayors in Kherson Oblast. Russian troops have kidnapped the mayors of several communities in Kherson Oblast and brought them to the east bank of the Dnipro River, the Interior Ministry reported on Nov. 22.

Occupation government claims two drones shot down over Sevastopol. Mikhail Razvozhaev, head of the illegal Russian occupation government in Ukraine’s Sevastopol, said that the drones had been downed near the Balaklava Thermal Power Plant in the city. He added that there were no casualties and no damage to civilian infrastructure.

Reznikov: Russia has used most of its high-precision missile arsenal in Ukraine. According to the data published by Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, Russia has 119 Iskander missiles left in stock compared to 900 before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Iranian, Ukrainian experts meet to discuss Russia’s use of Iranian drones. “Ukraine has informed Iran that the consequences of complicity in the Russian aggression will be incommensurable with the potential benefits of cooperation with Russia,” Oleh Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, told CNN.

SBU conducts raid at historic Kyiv monastery. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) conducted a “counterintelligence” operation at Kyiv’s Pechersk Lavra and other locations of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to counter alleged “subversive activities of the Russian special services in Ukraine,” the SBU said in a Telegram post.

Ukrainian prosecutors open criminal case into shootout involving Russian POWs. The Prosecutor General’s Office said it was investigating video footage that appears to show a Russian soldier opening fire on Ukrainian troops when other Russian soldiers were surrendering as prisoners of war.

Reintegration Ministry: Ukraine returns bodies of 33 fallen soldiers. The bodies of 33 Ukrainian service people were returned to Ukraine, the Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories Ministry reported on Nov. 22. Ukraine has reportedly returned 721 fallen service people thus far.

Inside one of Russia’s torture chambers in Kherson (PHOTOS)

Huge numbers of Ukrainians were detained by Russians occupying Kherson. Many of them were interrogated by torture. The chief prosecutor of Kherson Oblast, Volodymyr Kalyuga, said that locals were tortured at four sites throughout the city.

The human cost of Russia’s war

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor: Russian shelling of Orikhiv kills 1 person, injures 2. Russian forces attacked a humanitarian aid distribution point at a school in Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh reported on Nov. 22. A social worker was killed and two people were injured due to the attack.

Local official: Russian strikes at Kherson kill 3 people. According to Suspilne media outlet, 12 sites have been hit in Kherson as of 3:30 p.m.

Governor: Russian forces kill 4 civilians, injure 4 in Donetsk Oblast. Russian attacks killed civilians in Bakhmut, Heorhiivka, Kurakhove, and Petrivka, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Nov. 22. Four civilians have also been injured by Russian attacks in the past 24 hours, Kyrylenko said. It is not possible to determine the number of casualties in Mariupol and Volnovakha.

President’s Office: Russian forces kill 8 people, injure 16 in past day. Three people were killed and 10 wounded in Kherson Oblast, four people were killed and four injured in Donetsk Oblast, and one person was killed and two were wounded in Kharkiv Oblast, Deputy Head of the President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported on Nov. 22.

General Staff: Russia has lost 85,000 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Nov. 22 that Russia had also lost 2,895 tanks, 5,827 armored fighting vehicles, 4,393 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,882 artillery systems, 395 multiple launch rocket systems, 209 air defense systems, 278 airplanes, 261 helicopters, 1,537 drones, 480 cruise missiles, and 16 boats.

International response

US to provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion as direct budget support. The U.S. will start disbursing the funds in the next few weeks, which will help Ukraine improve economic stability and support critical government services, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Nov. 22.

EU gives Ukraine another 2.5 billion euros for reconstruction. The bloc plans to provide a total of 18 billion euros to Ukraine in 2023, according to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Official: EU to seize assets of those evading sanctions against Russia. The European Commission aims to issue a directive within days to enable the confiscation of assets belonging to those trying to evade sanctions against Russia, the Irish Times reported, citing EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders.

WSJ: Senators ask Biden administration to supply Ukraine with drones. A group of 16 U.S. senators from the Democratic and Republican parties have written a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, calling on the administration to provide Ukraine with MQ-1C Gray Eagle combat drones, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Russian Gazprom threatens to cut gas flows to Europe via Ukraine. Russian state-owned energy monopolist Gazprom said on Nov. 22 that about 52 million cubic meters of gas meant to be transported through Ukraine to Moldova are being kept in Ukraine. Kyiv denied the accusations.

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In other news

Ukrainian dissident Yurii Shukhevych dies at 89. Ukrainian dissident Yurii Shukhevych, the son of Roman Shukhevych, who was the commander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, died on Nov. 22 in Germany, where he was undergoing medical treatment, news outlet NTA reported, citing Yurii’s wife, Natalia Shukhevych.

Foreign Ministry: Ukraine summons Hungarian ambassador amid Orban’s scarf controversy. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said on Nov. 22. that Ukraine has summoned the Hungarian ambassador after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attended a football match wearing a scarf depicting a historical map of Hungary that included Ukrainian territories.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Dinara Khalilova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Thaisa Semenova, Lili Bivings, Oleg Sukhov, and Teah Pelechaty.

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