Ukraine Daily Summary - Friday, November 11

Russia's retreat from Kherson gives Ukraine firepower control over roads from Crimea -- Russian troops reportedly blow up TV center, destroy infrastructure in Kherson -- If Russia blows up Kakhovka dam, it will be war declaration to whole world -- Russia is covertly checking its bomb shelters -- and more

Ukraine Daily

Friday, November 11

Russia’s war against Ukraine

KI-Inline_11-11-22

Local residents harvest last potatoes in a field at the eastern Ukrainian village of Zarichne, near the frontline in Donbas region, on November 10, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Zarichne village, which is taken back from the Russian forces few weeks ago, people live without electricity, water and basic needs. (Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Zaluzhnyi: Ukraine liberates 41 settlements in Kherson Oblast since Oct. 1. Ukraine has advanced about 36.5 kilometers into the Russian defense in the Kherson direction, liberating over 41 settlements since Oct. 1, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. Moscow’s announced retreat from Kherson is the result of Ukrainian forces’ actions as they destroyed Russia’s logistics routes and its support system, Zaluzhnyi said.

Ukraine liberates Snihurivka in Mykolaiv Oblast. Ukrainian soldiers published a video from Snihurivka on Nov. 10, saying that the settlement had been liberated by the forces of the 131st reconnaissance battalion, according to Ukrainska Pravda. Ukraine’s Armed Forces reportedly entered the town of Snihurivka, located on the way to Kherson, on Nov. 9, when Russia announced its retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro River.

Financial Times: Russia’s retreat from Kherson gives Ukraine firepower control over roads from Crimea. Russia’s withdrawal from “strategically important” Kherson Oblast on the west bank of the Dnipro River would allow the Armed Forces to threaten a critical Russian supply route from Crimea, the Financial Times reported, citing Defense Ministry adviser Serhii Kuzan.

UK intelligence: Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson to take several days. Russian forces have restricted crossing points on the Dnipro River, which makes them vulnerable when retreating from Kherson. The withdrawal will likely happen over several days covered by defensive positions and artillery, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported. “The loss of Kherson’s west bank will likely prevent Russia from achieving its strategic aspiration of a land bridge reaching Odesa,” reads the report.

Erdogan calls Russia’s retreat from Kherson ‘positive decision.’ Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Russia’s announced withdrawal from Kherson was “a positive… important decision,” according to news outlet TRT Haber. Erdogan said he would continue to maintain telephone diplomacy with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Turkey’s “mediation work continues uninterruptedly,” Erdogan said, adding that he can’t predict when the war will be over.

Zelensky: ‘It’s not the enemy leaving. It’s Ukrainians who drive the occupiers out at high cost.’ “We should all remember now and always what this movement means, we should remember that every step (forward has a cost), the lives of our warriors,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

ISW: Ukraine holds initiative, in process of securing major victory in Kherson. The major Ukrainian victory underway in Kherson Oblast will not be Ukraine’s last, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment. The experts predict that fighting will continue on the southern axis, including in Donetsk Oblast’s Bakhmut, the only place Russian forces are still attempting meaningful offensives, and in northern Luhansk Oblast as Ukrainian forces continue counteroffensive operations.

Media: Russian troops reportedly blow up TV center, destroy infrastructure in Kherson. The Russian forces also reportedly blew up a regional energy facility, a local publication Most reported on Nov. 10. According to the report, there are problems with mobile service in the city, it only works near the Antonivsky bridge.

Zelensky: If Russia blows up Kakhovka dam, it will be war declaration to whole world. Any attempt by Russian forces to blow up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, flooding Ukrainian territory and dewatering the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant would mean that Russia is “declaring war on the whole world,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky. “Think what will happen to you then,” he said, addressing Russia’s leadership.

General Staff: Russian forces strengthening their positions on Dnipro’s east bank. Ukraine has advanced about 36.5 kilometers into Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast, liberating over 40 settlements since Oct. 1, according to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

Bloomberg: Russia is covertly checking its bomb shelters. Russian state workers are quietly checking basements and other shelters not used since Soviet times, people familiar with the efforts told Bloomberg. Inspections and cleanups of civil-defense facilities, which were typically built in the basements of hospitals, apartment buildings, schools and government offices in the Soviet era, are taking place in cities across the country, sources told the journalists.

Annual inflation in Ukraine reaches 26.6% in October. The inflation increased by 2.5% compared to the previous month, according to a report by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine. In 2023, inflation will decrease to 20.8%, according to the National Bank’s estimates.

Amnesty International accuses Russia of committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine. “Russia’s actions of forced displacement and deportation are reprehensible and constitute a war crime,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard said on Nov. 10.

Read our exclusives

How Russia’s humiliating defeat in Kherson came to be.

The Russian defeat in Kherson Oblast was almost inevitable — but it happened sooner than many expected.

Photo: Dmytro Smolienko /Ukrinform via Getty Images

Learn More

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine advances 7 kilometers in Kherson direction, liberates 12 nearby settlements.

Ukrainian forces advanced seven kilometers in the Kherson direction over the past day, swiftly recapturing 12 settlements near the Moscow-held southern regional capital, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief said on Nov. 10.

Photo: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Learn More

US election unlikely to jeopardize aid to Ukraine, for now.

If Moscow was hoping the U.S. midterm elections would sway military aid to Ukraine, it’s likely to be disappointed. Helping Ukraine fight off Russia continues to have support from both main parties in Washington, analysts said.

Photo: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Learn More

The human cost of Russia’s war

2 killed, 2 wounded in Russian strike on Mykolaiv. Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitalii Kim reported that Russian forces launched a missile strike on Mykolaiv on Nov. 11, destroying a five-story residential building. At least two people were killed and two more wounded, according to Kim. Search and rescue operations are ongoing. President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was “the terrorist state’s cynical response to our successes at the front.”

Russia’s attacks kill 3, injure 12 in Donetsk Oblast. In the past 24 hours, Russian forces have killed three civilians and wounded 12 in Donetsk Oblast, not including Mariupol and Volnovakha, according to the oblast governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko. The bodies of five more people killed by Russian troops during the occupation have been discovered in the village of Yarova, according to Kyrylenko.

General Staff: Russia has lost 78,690 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Nov. 10 that Russia had also lost 2,804 tanks, 5,682 armored fighting vehicles, 4,242 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,805 artillery systems, 393 multiple launch rocket systems, 205 air defense systems, 278 airplanes, 260 helicopters, 1,499 drones, and 16 boats.

International response

Norway plans to allocate nearly $ 144 million to support Ukraine. The Norwegian Government is preparing to contribute nearly 1,5 billion Norwegian kroner ($ 144 million) to the British-led International Fund for Ukraine, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said on Nov. 10.

US announces new $400 million security aid package to Ukraine, air defense included. U.S. Department of Defense announced the authorization of security assistance valued at up to $400 million “to meet Ukraine’s critical security and defense needs.” The new package will include air defense contributions, such as missiles for Hawk air defense systems and four Avenger air defense systems. Additional ammunition for HIMARS’ are also included in the package.

WSJ: South Korea to sell Ukraine-bound munitions to US. The U.S. will purchase artillery shells from South Korea that are destined for Ukrainian Armed Forces, U.S. officials familiar with the deal told the Wall Street Journal. South Korea will sell 100,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition that will be delivered to Ukraine, “enough to supply Ukraine’s artillery units for at least several weeks of intensive combat.”

Spain to hand over two additional Hawk air defense systems to Ukraine. Spain to dispatch two more Hawk surface-to-air missile launchers in addition to the four it has already sent to Ukraine, Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Nov. 10.

Minister: Poland hands over 1,570 Starlink systems to Ukraine. Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said on Nov. 10 that the systems have already been delivered to Ukraine. “This is especially important now because we have problems with electricity due to Russian shelling,” he said.

UK freezes $20.5 billion worth of Russian assets. Britain has frozen assets owned by Russian oligarchs, other individuals and entities sanctioned for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine that together account for $20.5 billion, the U.K. government wrote on Nov. 10. Russia has become Britain’s most-sanctioned nation, leaving behind Libya and Iran, according to the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation.

Want to get the news faster? Follow our website: kyivindependent.com.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Denys Krasnikov, Dinara Khalilova, Oleksiy Sorokin, Thaisa Semenova, Olena Goncharova, and Anastasiya Gordiychuk.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider becoming our patron on Patreon or donating via GoFundMe. Start supporting independent journalism today.