Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:10 Zelensky said that he had a conversation with Prime Minister of Bulgaria Nikolai Denkov, informed him about the current defense needs of Ukraine, in particular, about strengthening the Air Force and artillery.
21:58 Zaluzhny said that he had a telephone conversation with the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Brown: “We discussed the situation at the front. He spoke about the enemy’s local offensive actions in the Kupyansky, Limansky, Bakhmutsky, Avdeevsky and Maryinsky directions. At the same time, the Forces security and defense inflict significant losses on the enemy in manpower and equipment, and also deplete him along the entire front line. We agreed with General Brown to continue working together to find technological solutions to gain an advantage over the enemy in the air, fire engagement and mine clearance. Also shared with partners the results of our research into the effectiveness of the use of certain types of weapons."
21:54 The Russian army attacked Toretsk, Donetsk region, for the second time in a day. According to preliminary data, the enemy dropped two air bombs on the city, which hit the private sector. One person died and three were injured, the prosecutor's office said.
21:48 Zelensky, in an interview in Kiev with Nikkei and other foreign media, admitted that “everyone forgot about Ukraine” due to events in the Middle East: “I believe that this is exactly what the Russian Federation tried to achieve, and I am sorry to say that they achieved desired result." The president also once again stated that ceasefire negotiations with Moscow can begin only after the Russian military completely leaves the territory of Ukraine. “We cannot recognize our territories as territories of the Russian Federation,” he emphasized.
21:30 The Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, Tatyana Moskalkova, stated that simultaneously with the Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets, on the basis of reciprocity, they each visited 119 captured military personnel who are located on the territory of Russia and Ukraine.
Lubinets clarified that Russian representatives visited Ukrainian prisoners of war in the Russian Federation, and Ukrainian representatives visited Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. “The staff of our Office talked with the Russians and were once again convinced that our country adheres to the Geneva Conventions. Every prisoner of war is well-fed, provided with hygiene products, has the right to work, and has the opportunity to go for walks. As for medical care, it is also provided upon request prisoners of war. Also, everyone was given humanitarian packages with things and food. The Russians, in turn, talked with our defenders. According to them, they also provide medical assistance, and there was an opportunity to make phone calls to relatives. The captured Ukrainian soldiers recorded video messages to their relatives, who soon will be handed over to the recipients," the Ukrainian Ombudsman said.
21:17 Zelensky said that he held two important meetings in Zaporozhye: an operational one - with the military, the second - about fortification "in all main directions, where it is necessary to strengthen, speed up the construction of structures." One of the issues is the construction of shelters in schools, in particular in Zaporozhye and the region, so that children can study at least in a mixed format.
19:51 The delivery of a large batch of long-range bombs (GLSDB) from the United States to Ukraine has been postponed to 2024, Reuters reports. Last fall, Boeing, the main contractor for GLSDB, first approached Washington with a proposal to buy and deliver this small-diameter bomb to Ukraine. The production required materials, the contract was signed in March.
The Pentagon did not buy this missile for itself. Now sources familiar with the current timeline say the company will ship to the US in late December, followed by several months of testing before shipping to Ukraine, Reuters adds.
19:45 All political forces of the Verkhovna Rada signed a memorandum on holding the next elections only after the end of martial law. Both presidential and parliamentary elections must be held no earlier than six months after the end of martial law.
19:16 The Netherlands will provide Ukraine with an additional aid package worth 2.5 billion euros in 2024, said the country’s Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot.
19:03 On December 12, the European Commission will publish the final draft plan for the use of Russian assets frozen in the EU in favor of Ukraine, Bloomberg writes. The European Commission's plan provides for the introduction of a tax on excess income from the use of frozen assets.
18:59 The National Police clarified that as a result of today’s shelling of Berislav, Kherson region, two policemen were wounded.
18:55 Zelensky visited a metro school in Kharkov at the University of the Kharkov metro station, the President’s Office reported. He visited classes and awarded teachers in the region.
At the University station, 831 children study from 40 classes, which are assigned to 11 educational institutions. Premises for teaching children are located at five stations of the Kharkov metro: University, Peremoga, Tractor Plant, Metrostroiteley and Academician Pavlov. 105 classes have been formed, with 2,094 students in grades 1-11 studying. Classrooms are assigned to 26 lyceums, children study in two shifts. Schoolchildren from all over the city are transported free of charge by buses along 12 routes, accompanied by patrol police. There are accompanying persons on buses with children.
18:34 The Russian Army shelled the village. Liptsy, Dergachiv community, Kharkov region, one person was injured, the prosecutor's office reported.
18:17 The Russians are trying to recreate the Ukrainian surface drone SeaBaby in order to use it against Ukraine, sources of the UP in the special services said. According to them, the enemy managed to assemble a “conditionally working” model of a naval drone from the remains of several devices found at the site of the attacks.
17:29 The Russians shelled Tyaginka, Kherson region, three people were injured, the OVA reported.
17:04 EU countries have agreed on a package of financial support for Ukraine worth 50 billion euros for the next four years , SkyNews writes. European Budget Commissioner Johannes Hann said that the aid package is not disputed by any EU country.
17:00 The new Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, received the Russian ambassador in Bratislava and said that Slovakia should prepare for the period after the end of the war in Ukraine and the “standardization of relations” with Russia.
16:56 The Russians fired a mortar at a residential area in Toretsk, Donetsk region. Three people who came to receive humanitarian aid at the administrative building were wounded, the prosecutor's office reported.
16:53 The Biden administration called on Turkey to refrain from supporting Hamas and Russia, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing sources. Deputy Treasury Secretary for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson, during a visit to Ankara, told representatives of the Turkish authorities that they are provoking violence in the Middle East and Europe by actively helping Hamas and Russian militants violate Western sanctions. US officials have warned that Turkish companies and individuals risk sanctions if they continue to help Russia evade sanctions.
16:10 Hungary will not support the decision to begin negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and the EU’s allocation of 50 billion euros to it until 2027, said the head of Orban’s office, Gergely Gulyas.
15:51 North Korea sent about 2,000 containers with weapons to Russia, writes Reuters. The containers could contain shells and short-range missiles. They were loaded onto Russian ships in the port of the North Korean free economic zone of Rason, which has not operated since 2018.
15:32 The Russian army attacked Berislav, Kherson region, with a drone, two people were wounded, OVA reported.
15:29 Russian media write that the cause of the fire in a freight train in the Severomuysk tunnel was allegedly caused by a “short circuit in the cable network.” A freight train of 50 cars began to enter a tunnel near the Okushikan station in Buryatia when the driver heard a “pop.” A fire started in one of the carriages. As a result, three tank cars were damaged, one of them burned out completely. Currently, recovery and firefighting trains are operating in the tunnel. Propagandists claim that there are no delays in the movement of passenger trains and no people were injured.
15:15 Zelensky said that he had a conversation with Scholz, they discussed further defense cooperation, the situation on the battlefield, and the work of the grain corridor. The President also had a telephone conversation with Rishi Sunak, informed about the priority needs to increase the defense capabilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and strengthen the Ukrainian air shield after visits to the front line in the south and east of Ukraine.
15:02 The Russians fired a mortar at the civilian infrastructure of the city of Seredina-Buda, Sumy region. One person was wounded, prosecutors said.
14:43 First Lady Elena Zelenskaya was included in the list of the 25 most influential women in the world in 2023 according to the British newspaper Financial Times. Zelenskaya was included in the Heroes category. The Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas gave a characterization of the first lady. According to her, Zelenskaya, like her husband, has become “a global symbol of perseverance.”
14:09 The number of deaths as a result of enemy shelling of the village of Sadovoye, Kherson community, has increased to three, the OVA reported.
13:25 The growth of social tension and the deterioration of the social situation in the Russian Federation is stated by Russian officials and representatives of the special services themselves, including in closed reports to the country’s top leadership, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reports. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, the increase in protest activity of the Russian population is expressed by increasingly high dissatisfaction with the war against Ukraine.
In addition, there is a deterioration in the crime situation within the Russian Federation. The increase in crime in the regions is caused by the loss of stable sources of income, difficulties in finding employment and alcoholism of the population. Also increasing social tension is affected by rising prices.
13:11 Zelensky said that he visited the forward command post of the defenders of Kupyansk.
12:59 As a result of the Ukrainian strike on the Russian headquarters in occupied Tokmak, Zaporozhye region, which they placed in a kindergarten, at least 14 Russian military personnel were eliminated, including many officers, said the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov. According to him, on November 29, explosions also continued in Tokmak - in those places in the vicinity of the city where the enemy concentrates military equipment and manpower.
12:36 Zelensky said at a meeting with students in Nikolaev that it would be more difficult for Ukraine to return Donbass than Crimea, since local residents fought against the Ukrainian Armed Forces: “It may happen that we return the territories before these people. If, for example, we take Donbass, people have been living there for ten years, but not there. They live in another dimension. I think it will be more difficult with Donbass. I believe that the territories are returning with people. If people don’t want it, it will be very, very difficult. I think it will be very difficult to return Donbass mentally more difficult, because there was a contact line with the occupation for ten years and there were constant hostilities. There was a lot of separatism on the other side, they fought. This means that in this or that family in Donbass, not everyone returned. Or some kind of history returned. Relationships are clear. And even now, when the Russian Federation is fighting and fighting against us, the toughest ones are the separatists. They are standing. The Russians are fleeing, but these are standing. But there were no hostilities in Crimea."
The President believes that now “the main thing for Ukraine is to preserve us, our integrity,” and the situation in the occupied territories may change with the change of generations.
12:32 The Russians fired artillery at the village of Sadovoye, Kherson region, one person was killed, the OVA reported. In addition, one person was injured as a result of an enemy attack on the Korabel microdistrict of Kherson.
11:41 A bill has been submitted to the US Congress to seize the assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs and transfer them to the restoration of Ukraine. The document was introduced by both Democrats and Republicans from both houses of parliament: Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (Democrat) and Lindsey Graham (Republican), along with members of the House of Representatives Joe Wilson (Republican) and Steve Cohen (Democrat).
The bill's description says it will "allow the Department of Justice to more quickly confiscate high-value assets belonging to sanctioned Russian oligarchs through existing administrative forfeiture procedures and transfer the proceeds from those assets to Ukraine." In particular, we are talking about private jets, yachts and other expensive assets.
11:37 Ukrainian media report, citing sources, about a new special operation of the SBU: tonight there was an explosion on the Baikal-Amur Mainline, namely in the Severomuisky tunnel named after. Bessolovo, which is located in Buryatia. This is the only full-fledged railway route between Russia and China, and now this route, used by the Russian Federation for military supplies, is paralyzed. According to media reports, four explosive devices went off while the freight train was moving, and the FSB is now on the scene.
In turn, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense reported that in the last days of November, two objects burned down on important sections of the Russian railway in the Moscow region: a relay cabinet near the settlement of Lazenki, Novoperedelkinsky district, and a relay cabinet near the settlement of Artemyevo, Domodedovo urban district. As a result of “a special event carried out jointly with the resistance movement,” train traffic in these areas was paralyzed, the Main Intelligence Directorate reports.
11:10 At the site of shelling of a residential building in Novogrodovka, Donetsk region, the body of the deceased was pulled out from under the rubble. As of 10:00, there are probably four people under the rubble, one of them a child. The search and rescue operation continues, said Igor Moroz, head of the OSA.
10:58 Putin will hold a direct line and an annual large press conference on December 14, Peskov said.
10:27 Ukraine produces about 50 thousand FPV drones every month, while Russia produces six times more, Forbes writes. In total, there are about 200 UAV manufacturers in Ukraine, which provide only 10-15% of the total needs of the army. At the same time, Ukrainian manufacturers lack 2,000 engineers, and to reach the level of Russia, the industry needs 6,000 engineers.
09:51 In the Odessa region, during a night attack, a drone hit an unused building, said Oleg Kiper, head of the OVA. The fire was quickly extinguished by rescuers; no people were injured.
09:22 At night, the Russian army attacked Daryevka, Kherson region, four local residents were injured, OVA reports. About ten residential buildings, a kindergarten and a hospital were damaged. Over the previous 24 hours, one person was killed and five were injured as a result of Russian shelling in the region.
08:47 As a result of the night shelling of settlements in the Pokrovsky district of the Donetsk region, ten people were injured, including four children. Five more people are being searched under the rubble, the National Police said. The enemy fired six S-300 missiles at Pokrovsk, Novogrodovka and Mirnograd. Apartment and private buildings, the police department, and cars were damaged.
08:35 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of November 30:
- personnel - about 328,760 (+1180) people,
- tanks - 5551 (+13),
- armored combat vehicles - 10,340 (+28),
- artillery systems - 7909 (+1),
- MLRS - 910 (+0),
- air defense systems - 600 (+0),
- aircraft - 323 (+0),
- helicopters - 324 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 5954 (+10),
- cruise missiles - 1567 (+0),
- ships/boats - 22 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 10,361 (+13),
- special equipment - 1124 (+3).
08:09 In the Khmelnytsky region, during a night attack, debris from downed drones fell on the territory of a former plant in the Shepetovsky district, no people were injured, the OVA reported. The IAEA team monitoring the situation at the Khmelnitsky nuclear power plant reported that, while in its premises, it heard several explosions in the immediate vicinity last night for 20 minutes.
07:58 At night, air defense destroyed 14 of 20 Shahed attack UAVs , which Russia attacked from two directions - Crimea and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, the Air Force command reported. Air defense operated in the southern, eastern and central regions of Ukraine. In addition, the Russians attacked the Donetsk region with eight S-300 anti-aircraft guided missiles.
07:41 Over the past 24 hours, 101 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In particular, the Defense Forces repelled 24 enemy attacks in the Limansky direction (in the Serebryansky forestry areas of the Luhansk region and east of Ternov, Yampolevka, Torskoye, Donetsk region) and 22 attacks in Avdeevsky (near Stepnoy, Novokalinovo, east of Novobakhmutovka, Avdeevka, south of Tonenkoye, Severny, Pervomaisky, Donetsk region).
In the Kupyansk direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled enemy attacks near Sinkovka, Petropavlovka in the Kharkov region and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk region; on Bakhmutsky - near Ivanovsky and Andreevka, Donetsk region; on Maryinsky - in the Krasnohorivka and Novomikhailovka districts of the Donetsk region; on Shakhtarsky - south of Prechistovka, Donetsk region; in Zaporozhye - in the Rabotino area and north-west of Verbovoy, Zaporozhye region.
At the same time, the Defense Forces continue the offensive operation in the Melitopol direction, assault operations south of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, and in the Kherson direction they hold occupied positions on the left bank of the Dnieper.
04:40 In Russian Bryansk, drones attacked a warehouse with Shahed drones, which in Russia are called Geran-2, local publics report. According to them, city residents heard explosions in the area of the television center. Russian authorities did not comment on the explosions.
00:33 In Crimea, Russian TV channels broadcast videos with appeals from Zelensky , Zaluzhny and Budanov, local publics report. The Ukrainian president’s address was also supplemented by footage of Ukrainian Armed Forces’ strikes on Russian positions and on Russian ships in the Black Sea. Advisor to the Gauleiter of Crimea Oleg Kryuchkov later reported that a number of local Internet providers had been hacked.