New turnaround in Washington politics. The United States has decided to supply antipersonnel mines to kyiv, a few days after the green light to strike on Russian territory with American-made long-range missiles. The United States “are fully committed to prolonging the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to this end”blasted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov on Wednesday, November 20. On the diplomatic front, Brazilian President Lula and Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a “political solution” in Ukraine. Here’s what to remember from the day.
The United States announces that it will supply antipersonnel mines to Ukraine
After the green light given on Sunday by President Joe Biden to Ukraine for the use against Russian territory of long-range American-made missiles, the United States announced on Wednesday that they would provide kyiv with “non-persistent antipersonnel mines” (equipped with a self-destruct or self-deactivation device) to strengthen its defenses against the Russian invasion). “They are fully committed to prolonging the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to this end”immediately reacted the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov.
“Their mechanized forces are no longer in the lead. They are advancing on foot in order to approach and do things to open the way for the mechanized forces.”justified the American Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, to journalists during a visit to Laos, a country long ravaged by this type of weaponry. This turnaround by Joe Biden comes amid concerns about continued support for Ukraine once President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January. The Ukrainian president himself warned of the risk of defeat against Moscow in the event of an end to American aid, judging the “survival” of Ukraine at stake.
Ukraine used British long-range missiles against Russia for the first time
kyiv has long demanded authorization to use these weapons. Ukraine sent British long-range Storm Shadow missiles against Russian territory for the first time, after obtaining authorization from London, British media reported on Wednesday, the day after the similar launch of American ATACMS missiles. Several of these missiles, which have a range of more than 250 km, were launched on at least one Russian military target, reports the Financial Times citing three anonymous sources including a Western official informed of the strike. The United Kingdom gave the green light to the use of these missiles against Russian territory in response to the deployment of North Korean troops to help the Russian army, according to the daily The Guardian . Neither kyiv nor London have yet confirmed this information.
Lula and Xi Jinping call for “dialogue” and a “political solution” in Ukraine
Brazilian President Lula advocated Wednesday the “dialogue” to end the war in Ukraine, during a visit by his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to Brasilia. The latter, for his part, called for “bring together more voices committed to peace to pave the way for a political solution”reported the official Xinhua news agency.
In unison, Lula highlighted the peace proposal in Ukraine pushed in recent months by Brasilia and Beijing, seeing it as a “example of convergence of views in matters of international security”. Russian President Vladimir Putin considered this proposal “balanced”but it had been rejected by the Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelensky and had not been supported by the United States and the European Union either.
North Korea sent new weapons to Russia
Pyongyang continues its war effort in favor of Moscow. North Korea has sent Russia new shipments of artillery systems and rocket launchers to support its war effort in Ukraine, a South Korean lawmaker said Wednesday. The National Intelligence Service of South Korea (SNR) “confirmed that the North sent 170mm self-propelled artillery and 240mm long-range rocket launchers”declared after an SNR briefing Lee Seong-kweun, member of a parliamentary committee dedicated to intelligence.
North Korea has also deployed personnel to take care of the maintenance of these weapons which are not part of Russia’s conventional arsenal, he added, without giving further details. According to Lee Seong-kweun, intelligence puts the number of North Koreans sent to Russia for war at 11,000 and believes that these troops “incur losses”. Neither Pyongyang nor Moscow have confirmed the presence of these soldiers. North Korea, however, affirmed at the end of October that any deployment would be “according to” to international law, The two allies are linked by a mutual defense treaty, recently ratified.
Russia says it shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones
Russia announced on Wednesday that it had shot down dozens of Ukrainian drones during the night and morning, particularly over its border regions with Ukraine. Russian air defense systems “destroyed or intercepted 44 Ukrainian aerial drones”according to a press release from the Russian Defense Ministry.
Moscow announces almost daily that it has destroyed Ukrainian drones launched against its territory, but in generally lower numbers. kyiv says it is carrying out these strikes, which often target energy sites, in response to Russian bombings on its territory.
