Every day, Midi Libre takes stock of the situation in Ukraine. This Wednesday, November 20, 2024, discover the latest news around this conflict.
Russian command post bombed in Belgorod region
Ukraine said on Wednesday that a Russian command post had been “hit successfully” in Gubkin, a town in the Belgorod region of Russia, approximately 170 km from the border between the two countries. This announcement comes the day after Ukraine used long-range American ATACMS-type missiles for the first time to bomb an arsenal in Russia. Concerning the strike on Gubkin, Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) does not specify what type of weaponry was used, who was behind the shot or when it took place.
“Residents of Gubkin saw thick black smoke, smelled it and heard powerful explosions”declares HUR in a press release published on Telegram messaging. He specifies that this attack targeted the command post of the “Sever” force group. The Russian Defense Ministry for its part declared on Wednesday that Russia had intercepted 44 drones fired overnight by Ukrainian forces, including three in the Belgorod region.
US embassy in kyiv closes in anticipation of possible Russian attacks
The U.S. Embassy in kyiv closed its doors Wednesday after receiving reports of potential threats of air attacks and alerted U.S. citizens in Ukraine to prepare to take shelter quickly. This unusual warning comes the day after the Ukrainian army used long-range American ATACMS-type missiles on Russian territory. “As a precautionary measure, the embassy will be closed and embassy employees have been instructed to shelter in place”specifies a press release from the American Department of Consular Affairs, published on the embassy website.
“The U.S. Embassy recommends that U.S. citizens take immediate shelter in the event of an air strike.” The embassy also recommended that its nationals prepare supplies of water, food and essential products. Russia targeted energy facilities in Ukraine with 120 missiles and 90 drones on Sunday, causing major outages and damaging Ukraine's energy network. “Continued Russian attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine may cause power and heat outages and disrupt municipal services.”
Reacting to the announcement from the American embassy, the head of the Center for Combating Disinformation of the Ukrainian Security Council Andri Kovalenko suggested that Russia was preparing to carry out new attacks. “Let me remind you that the Russians have been amassing missiles for months in preparation for a series of attacks on Ukraine. This includes Kh-101 missiles, which they continue to produce, as well as Kalibr missiles and ballisticshe said.
Moscow has been warning for weeks that a green light from Washington for American missile strikes on Russian territory would represent a serious escalation in the conflict and Vladimir Putin on Tuesday approved a new nuclear doctrine opening the possibility for Russia to resort to the weapon atomic in the event of a massive attack by a State not equipped with nuclear weapons but supported by a nuclear State.
German detained in Russia over Kaliningrad explosion
A German national has been arrested in Russia for “transporting explosives” and “terrorism”, with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) accusing him of blowing up a pipe at a gas distribution station in Kaliningrad. The FSB said on Wednesday that the man, named Nikolai Gaiduk, was involved in an attack in March in the Russian enclave on the Baltic Sea using a homemade bomb.
He was arrested during a subsequent attempt to enter Kaliningrad from Poland, when border guards searched his car and found 0.5 liters of liquid explosive. According to the FSB, Nikolai Gaiduk, who was born in 1967 and lives in Hamburg, acted on the instructions of a Ukrainian also living in this northern German city. “Steps are currently being taken to identify and bring to justice those who helped Gaiduk (…) carry out illegal activities”the FSB said. The German Foreign Ministry has not yet made any comments. According to Russian authorities, the explosion of the pipeline in Kaliningrad caused a fire but did not cause any casualties.
Alert in kyiv after threats, Ukraine denounces Russian disinformation
Warning sirens sounded across Ukraine on Wednesday, in the capital kyiv and other parts of the country, after reports that the Ukrainian Air Force had warned of a potential missile attack. The General Directorate of Ukrainian Intelligence denounced a false warning allegedly emanating from Ukrainian military intelligence services, as part of a “massive psychological and informational attack” of Russia.
“A message is circulating via messengers and social networks (…) about the threat of a 'particularly massive' missile and bomb attack on Ukrainian cities today”she said in a press release. “This message is fake, it contains grammatical errors typical of Russian information and psychological operations.” Early Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in kyiv announced it was closing its doors after receiving reports of potential threats of air attacks.
Ukraine used Storm Shadow cruise missiles to strike Russia
Ukraine launched a series of British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles against Russian territory on Wednesday, according to information from Russian war reporters confirmed by a representative on condition of anonymity, a day after kyiv's use of missiles American ATACMS. A spokesman for the Ukrainian army command said he did not have such information at this time. In London, a spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said no comments would be made on operational activities.
These shots were carried out after the administration of US President Joe Biden authorized kyiv to use weapons supplied by the United States to strike deep into Russian territory, thirty-three months after the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Britain notably supplies Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine, which it has in the past authorized to use inside Ukrainian territory in the face of Russian assaults. Moscow has warned that using Western weapons to strike inside Russia, far from areas bordering Ukraine, would constitute a major escalation of the conflict. Washington and its Western allies, on the other hand, accuse Moscow of being at the origin of a new escalation by deploying North Korean soldiers alongside Russian troops.
kyiv has long demanded the green light from the West to strike Russian targets at long range, citing the need, to defend itself against Moscow's offensive, to be able to reach rear bases used by the Russian army. Videos posted to the Telegram messaging service by Russian war reporters show what they describe as the sound of missiles hitting Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, where kyiv launched a surprise incursion this summer. At least 14 loud explosions can be heard.
“We will lose” if the United States stops helping Ukraine, warns Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday that Ukraine would lose against Russia if the United States stopped helping the country, while kyiv and its European allies fear American disengagement under the future presidency of Donald Trump.
“If they cut (the aid), I think we will lose. Of course, we will stay, we will fight (…) but I think it is not enough to survive”declared the Ukrainian leader during an interview with Fox News, the conservatives' favorite American channel.
The United States will supply antipersonnel mines to Ukraine
The United States will provide Ukraine with “non-persistent antipersonnel mines” (equipped with a self-destruct or self-deactivation device) to strengthen its defenses against the Russian invasion, a senior American official told AFP.
This decision comes after the green light given on Sunday by President Joe Biden to Ukraine for the use against Russian territory of long-range missiles supplied by the United States.
The Kremlin accuses Washington of wanting to “prolong the war”
Russia on Wednesday accused the United States of prolonging the war by increasing its arms deliveries to kyiv, shortly after the media announcement of the delivery of antipersonnel mines to Ukraine by Washington.
“They are fully committed to prolonging the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to this end”reacted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov, while noting that he could not confirm that Washington would supply kyiv with anti-personnel mines, a controversial type of weapon.
Ukraine criticizes closed embassies, says Russian threat is the same every day
Ukrainian diplomacy criticized on Wednesday the closure of several Western embassies on the grounds of a potential risk of massive Russian strikes, estimating that this threat had been the same every day since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022.
“The threat of strikes (…) has unfortunately been a daily reality for Ukrainians for more than a thousand days”said a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry in a statement, calling on Westerners not to feed “the tension” with the closure of their embassies.
Ukraine evokes Russian “psychological” war operation
Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of carrying out a war operation “massive psychological”after the temporary closure of several Western embassies fearing a Russian strike.
“The terrorist country (Russia, editor’s note) is carrying out a massive information and psychological attack against Ukraine”Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) said in a statement, citing false messages circulating on social media and attributed to the GUR reporting an increased risk of Russian strikes.
