Wednesday, November 22

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A schoolboy commemorates the Heavenly Hundred Heroes, who were killed in 2014 during the Euromaidan protests, on Nov. 21, 2023 in Lviv, Ukraine. (Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Zelensky on 10th anniversary of EuroMaidan: ‘It is up to our generation to determine the direction (Ukraine’s history) will take.’ President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the Day of Dignity and Freedom on Nov. 21, which marks the start of two major Ukrainian uprisings — the EuroMaidan Revolution and the Orange Revolution.

Russia attacks Odesa Oblast port infrastructure. A Russian strike hit port infrastructure in Odesa Oblast, the Southern Defense Forces reported on Nov. 21.

German Defense Minister Pistorius arrives in Kyiv on unannounced visit. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius is in Kyiv to “personally see the current situation and the effectiveness of German support,” the Defense Ministry reported on Nov. 21.

Zelensky believes EU ready to meet Ukraine halfway on European integration path. “And we believe that the European Union will be ready to do its part to meet Ukraine halfway, as promised,” Zelensky said during a press briefing with Michel and Moldovan President Maia Sandu.

Ukraine unveils ‘powerful drone’ that can fly behind enemy lines, evade jamming. The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), dubbed “Backfire,” will help Ukraine “hit Russian artillery, logistics hubs, enemy storage points, and command posts,” Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said.

General Staff: Over 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers trained in partner countries. Over 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers have received training in facilities of more than 30 partner countries in less than two years, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Nov. 21, citing Major General Oleksandr Kyrylenko, the deputy chief of the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.

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Parliament passes bill to increase anti-corruption bureau staff in first reading. Ukraine’s parliament passed in the first reading a draft law to increase the staff of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) from 700 to 1,000, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Nov. 21.

SBU detains priest of Kremlin-linked church over spreading pro-Russian propaganda. A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate has been detained for allegedly spreading pro-Russian propaganda during sermons, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Nov. 21.

Parliament backs appointment of Rivne Oblast governor as State Property Fund head. The parliament approved the appointment of Rivne Oblast Governor Vitalii Koval as the new head of the State Property Fund, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said on Nov. 21.

NABU uncovers lawmaker’s attempt to bribe official with cryptocurrency. A lawmaker has been caught attempting to bribe a state official with bitcoins, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) reported on Telegram on Nov. 21.

Audit of Chernihiv Oblast military unit reveals procurement wrongdoing. An audit conducted by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry concerning a military unit in Chernihiv Oblast revealed a loss of more than Hr 38.8 million ($1.08 million) of state funds, the ministry reported on Nov. 21.

Read our exclusives

How Ukrainian identity evolved since the Revolution of Dignity

Despite the challenges faced in the decade following the Revolution of Dignity, also known as the EuroMaidan Revolution, Ukrainian identity has coalesced around a robust civic society and a cultural renaissance that has provided strength and resilience in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

Photo: Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

10 years later: EuroMaidan activists who went on to fight Russian invasion

The EuroMaidan Revolution united millions of Ukrainians in protest against a corrupt, authoritarian, pro-Russian regime. Few could have guessed that this was just the beginning of Ukraine’s decade of struggle against mounting Russian subjugation attempts.

Illustration: Karolina Gulshani

Watchdogs: Parliament moves to destroy key pillar of judicial reform

The Ukrainian parliament on Nov. 21 approved the first reading of a bill that effectively destroys a key pillar of judicial reform, the Public Integrity Council, according to civic watchdogs.

Photo: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Unraveling the standoff between Polish and Ukrainian truckers

As Polish protests blocking three major Poland-Ukraine border crossings stretch into their third week, negotiations have all but failed as Ukraine accuses the protestors of causing further harm to its wartime economy.

Photo: Omar Marques/Anadolu via Getty Images

Human cost of war

UN records over 10,000 civilian deaths in Ukraine since February 2022. At least 10,000 civilians have been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said on Nov. 21. The figure consists of civilian deaths verified according to UN methodology, but the actual number is likely to be significantly higher.

Russian attacks kill 3, injure 4 in Kherson, Kharkiv oblasts. Russian multi-weapons attacks in Kherson and Kharkiv oblasts killed at least three people and injured another four in the past day, regional authorities reported on Nov. 21.

Russian air strikes on Beryslav in Kherson Oblast kill 1, injure 1. Russian air strikes on Beryslav in Kherson Oblast on Nov. 21 killed a 65-year-old man and injured a 57-year-old man, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

Minister: Russian missile attacks in Donetsk Oblast kill at least 1, injure 6. Russian forces launched four missiles at a hospital and a mine in Donetsk Oblast overnight, killing at least one and injuring six, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Nov. 21.

General Staff: Russia has lost 319,820 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. This number includes 610 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Nov. 21.

Opinions and insights

Opinion: On Ukraine’s medical front, fortune favors the bold

As the leading external provider of emergency medical evacuation services to the Ukrainian army, we at MOAS are already keeping alive this generation’s children: the brave men and women fighting in those trenches.

Photo: Courtesy MOAS

International response

Michel: Future safer with Ukraine in the EU. “I am absolutely convinced that our future will be safer with Ukraine within the European Union,” European Council President Charles Michel said ahead of a press conference in Kyiv on Nov. 21.

Germany pledges $1.4 billion military aid package for Ukraine. The tranche will supposedly include four IRIS-T SLM air defense systems, 20,000 155mm shells, and anti-tank mines, Pistorius said during a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov.

ABC News: US shell deliveries to Ukraine have dropped over 30% since Hamas’ Oct 7 attack. The U.S.’s deliveries of NATO-standard 155mm shells to Ukraine have decreased “by more than 30%” since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, an unnamed Ukrainian official told ABC News on Nov. 21.

Pentagon denies claim that shell deliveries dropped 30%. “Look, I would push back on that assertion,” U.S. Defense Department Spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters.

US Ambassador to UN likens Putin to Stalin. During a meeting of the UN Security Council, the ambassador said that Putin, like Stalin, used food as a weapon of war, and that the Holodomor “has become a cautionary tale about what happens when we let cruelty and tyranny go unchecked.”

Duda to Ukraine: ‘We will help you on your way to the EU and NATO.’ Duda congratulated Ukraine on the European Commission’s recommendation to begin EU accession talks and said Poland would continue to support Ukrainian sovereignty in its fight against Russian aggression.

Border Guard: Slovak haulers block checkpoint at Slovakia-Ukraine border. Slovak haulers began to block the movement of trucks at the Vysne Nemecke checkpoint, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko told Ukrainska Pravda on Nov. 21.

AP: Cypriot president asks foreign experts to help with Russian sanction evasion investigations. Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told the Associated Press on Nov. 20 that he had invited financial crime experts from an unnamed third-party country to assist with investigations into the use of Cyprus as a means of circumventing sanctions against Russia.

Germany’s exports to Russia in October decrease by more than 37% from past year. Germany’s exports to Russia fell by 37.3% in October 2023 compared to October 2022, the Federal Statistical Office of Germany reported on Nov. 21.

In other news

4-day ceasefire announced in Israel-Hamas war. Qatar has brokered a “truce-for-hostages” deal between Israel and Hamas that will include a four-day ceasefire.

Forbes cancels sale deal allegedly linked to Russian oligarch. The parent company of Forbes magazine is no longer going forward with a sale to billionaire Austin Russell, linked by the media to Russian oligarch Magomed Musaev, Bloomberg reported on Nov. 21.

White House: Wagner prepares to provide air defense to Hezbollah or Iran. The declassified White House intelligence confirms that the Russian Wagner Group has been preparing to provide air defense capabilities to either Iran or Hezbollah, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Nov. 21.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Nate Ostiller, Teah Pelechaty, Olga Rudenko, Martin Fornusek, Oleksiy Sorokin, Elsa Court, Dmytro Basmat, and Abbey Fenbert.

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