Tuesday, November 19

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Police officers from the evacuation group ‘White Angels’ evacuate civilians in Myrnograd, Ukraine, on Nov. 18, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Ukraine marks 1000 days of full-scale war. “For 1,000 days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been confronting the enemy on the front line, which stretches over 1,000 kilometers,” Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Nov. 19, Day 1,000 of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.

Zelensky visits key front-line town of Pokrovsk. “A tense sector. It is only thanks to the strength of the soldiers that the east (of Ukraine) is not completely occupied by Russia. The enemy receives an answer every day,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

UN watchdog confirms riot control agent used on Ukraine battlefield. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed on Nov. 18 that a riot control agent known as CS has been used in Ukraine, as evidence mounts that Russia has scaled up its attacks using chemical weapons in recent months.

US aims to ‘provoke further escalation’ — Kremlin comments on long-range strikes. “You know, with the reports in Western media, it is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps… to add fuel to the fire and continue to provoke further escalation of tensions,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told the media.

Zelensky to present ‘resilience plan’ to Ukrainian MPs on Nov 19. The 10-point plan will address the front-line situation, the military-industrial complex, the economy and finance, regional development, and other strategic sectors.

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UNESCO condemns recent Russian attack on historic center of Odesa. A UNESCO mission, led by Chiara Dezzi Bardeschi, head of the UNESCO Office in Ukraine, arrived on Nov. 16 to inspect recently damaged cultural heritage sites. The organization has not yet released the results of the assessments.

Russia uses cheap decoy drones to overload Ukraine’s air defense, Ukrainian intelligence says. Russian manufacturers use components from the U.S., China, the Netherlands, and Switzerland to produce the Gerbera drone, a cheaper and less deadly equivalent of Iran’s Shahed, at a plant in Yelabuga, in the Republic of Tatarstan, central Russia.

Ukraine’s GDP grows by 4.2% in 10 months of 2024. The transportation and construction industries remain the drivers of the growth, as well as the manufacturing sector, said First Deputy Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev in a statement.

Turkey’s peace plan for war in Ukraine ‘unacceptable,’ Russia says. “The option of freezing the line of military conflict is unacceptable for the Russian side,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in comments reported by Interfax.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Russia hits residential area in Odesa, kills 10, injures 55

Russian forces launched a ballistic missile attack against the port city of Odesa on Nov. 18, killing at least 10 people and injuring 55. The killed included seven police officers, a medic, and two civilian residents. 

Photo: State Emergency Service/Telegram

**Ukraine aid key to battling Russian invasion — Can Europe fill the gap if Trump pulls the plug?
**

Fears that Ukraine’s top Western ally could pull the plug on aid that is key to fending off Russia’s full-scale invasion, swelled this past weekend when those close to the president-elect made a few jabs at Ukraine and its president.

Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Ukraine’s small towns see unexpected attention from a US entrepreneur

When Chicagoan Chris Exline decided to expand his furniture rental company to Ukraine, he did not expect to relocate his life to a small town of 20,000 people in Ternopil Oblast.

Photo: Ed Ram/Getty Images

How US drone makers turned Ukraine into a tagline to sell west

The biggest weapons makers in the world convened in Washington, D.C. for the 70th meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. Ukraine remained at the center of the event’s enormous buzz.

Photo: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian missile attack on Odesa kills 10, injures 55. Ten people have been reported killed and 55 injured. The fatalities included seven police officers, a medic, and two civilian residents.

Opinions and insights

Temnycky: What Trump’s past statements reveal about the future of US-Ukraine relations

“During his 2016-2020 term, Trump’s stance toward NATO and Ukraine often raised eyebrows. He called NATO “obsolete” and argued that the U.S. should not be the world’s police force,” writes Mark Temnycky, a non-resident fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Photo: Patrick T. Fallon /AFP via Getty Images

Keatinge: With Trump back, Europe can’t afford to guess on sanctions against Russia

“The implications of Donald Trump’s imminent return to the White House on Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine are being minutely dissected. Will he deliver on his boast that he can end the war within 24 hours?” writes Tom Keatinge, a director of RUSI’s Centre for Finance and Security.

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

International response

Borrell confirms US authorization for Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with missiles up to 300 km in range. “The Biden administration has authorized the use of its weapons up to 300 kilometers inside Russian territory,” the European Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said. “The American administration said no for a long time, and they ended up saying yes.”

German Greens chancellor candidate says he would send Taurus to Ukraine if elected. The German Green Party’s candidate for chancellor, incumbent Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck, told the ARD television channel on Nov. 17 that if elected, he would greenlight the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

Germany to provide Ukraine with 4,000 AI-powered ’Mini-Taurus’ drones, Bild reports. The German government is reportedly funding a contract concluded in September between tech defense firm Helsing and Ukraine for the supply of attack 4,000 drones.

Duda criticizes Scholz’s call to Putin, saying ‘it’s a mistake.’ Polish President Andrzej Duda expressed doubts that German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin was agreed with the allies.

Scholz’s stance on Taurus unchanged despite US permission on long-range strikes. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has “made his position clear” on the matter and will “not change his position anymore,” spokesperson Wolfgang Buchner told AFP.

‘Nothing new under the sun’ — German, French foreign ministers react on Ukrainian long-range strikes. “Ukrainians shouldn’t have to wait for rockets to cross the border — they should be able to destroy launch sites directly,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said.

‘Unprecedented escalation’ — Fico criticizes US for permitting use of ATACMS to strike Russia. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, known for echoing Moscow’s talking points, claimed that U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized the use of ATACMS against targets in Russia “to disrupt or delay peace talks completely.”

EU widens sanctions on Iran for supporting Russia’s war. The expanded sanctions focus on vessels and ports involved in transporting Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and related technologies and components.

In other news

President of Russian-occupied Abkhazia resigns amid protests. Aslan Bzhania’s resignation will take effect once protesters withdraw and disperse from government property, according to an announcement from the Russian proxy leader’s press service.

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