Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Photo: State Emergency Service
Cities under attack.
Yesterday Russia launched around 100 missiles at Ukraine. 16 of them reached their targets, namely hitting energy infrastructure in different regions. This is the biggest simultaneous missile attack since February 24. The biggest number of attacks was recorded in the center and north of the country. 10 mln of Ukrainians were cut off power due to the missile attack. Before midnight Zelenskyy informed that only 2mln remained without power, as the technicians managed to return power supply to 8 mln citizens as a result of intense power repair works. Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, and Lviv regions were the ones that suffered the severest power cuts, said Zelenskyy. In Kyiv missiles damaged two residential houses, one person died. Due to the shelling Kharkiv region faced full power blackout, as well 80% of Lviv city and 90% of Ternopil region were cut off.
Poland.
In the evening of November 15, during the massive attack of Ukraine, 2 rockets fell on a farm in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland, close to the Ukraine border where they exploded, killing two people. In the evening Polish President Andrzej Duda convenes a meeting of the National Security Council. The President of Poland previously held talks with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, US President Joe Biden, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
After the call NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that NATO is monitoring the situation and allies are closely consulting. Also, the Polish President Andrzej Duda reported that the question of premises of Article 4 of NATO was discussed during the call.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his evening address on November 15, commented on the information about the alleged fall of missiles on the territory of Poland.
Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland officially announced that a Russian-made missile fell on the territory of Poland. In connection with this event, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Zbigniew Rau, summoned the ambassador of the Russian Federation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demanded immediate detailed explanations.
Foreign policy. G20.
During the summit, President Zelenskyy in his virtual address outlined Ukraine’s peace formula to Russia’s war. Suggested plan requires ensuring nuclear and radiation safety, food security, energy security, release of illegally detained and deported people by Russia, requiring implementation of the UN Charter, and restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and the world order, Russian withdrawal of troops from Ukraine and cessation of hostilities, ensuring of justice, environmental protection, prevention of escalation, and end of the Russian war in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, most members of the Group of 20 (G20) in the draft declaration on Wednesday say they ‘deplore in the strongest terms’ Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Considering the text of the declaration, representative of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, accused West of ‘politicizing’ the joint declaration and reportedly left the meeting before the announcement of the declaration.
Today the G20 Summit enters into its final day with an emergency meeting over a missile landing in Polish territory near Ukraine on Tuesday, killing two people.
The European Union has officially launched the EU Military Assistance Mission (EUMAM) for Ukraine. The first batch of 15000 Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in the EU based training camps as more than 20 Member States have offered their capacities to participate in this Mission, says the statement.
EU integration.
4,5 months after obtaining the EU candidate status Ukraine made moderate progress in implementing EU recommendations, necessary for further progress towards membership – the average expert score is 4.7 out of 10, says New Europe Centre. Recent assessment of Ukraine’s progress in regard to EU integration indicate that the best progress in has been made in the implementation of the Constitutional Court reform, while the assessment for the implementation of the reform of the High Council of Justice (HCJ) and the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine (HQCJ) has been slightly lowered.
Liberation.
Kherson region. On November 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the southern city of Kherson to celebrate its recapture from Russian forces with joyful residents and troops after months of Russian occupation. Mykolaiv region. The Russian occupiers stole all the utility equipment from Snihurivka, which was liberated from the Russian occupiers.
Human rights.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine as a result of the Russian military hostilities, 702 enterprise workers were injured while performing their duties, 214 of them were killed.
The Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the National Information Bureau and the International Committee of the Red Cross have agreed to ensure contact between all families and POWs whose status has been officially confirmed by the ICRC. So far, the Red Cross has already handed over 2000 letters from Ukrainian prisoners of war
Food security.
The European Union will allocate €210 million in aid to the countries most affected by the food crisis, in particular, caused by Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine.
Post-war reconstruction.
On November 14, the UN General Assembly adopted a draft resolution on the creation of a mechanism to compensate Ukraine for damages caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine. In response, Russia threatened to seize property of private investors in response to possible reparations.
War crimes prosecution.
A two-day conference was held in The Hague with the participation of Ukrainian and international lawyers, prosecutors, judges, and scientists on the coordination of efforts aimed at investigating crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine and ensuring justice.
Demining.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 278 333 explosive objects and 2845 kg of explosives, including 2145 aerial bombs, have been neutralized.
Eco crimes.
During the occupation of the Kherson region, the Russian military killed animals from the Red Data Book of Ukraine (an official national red list of the threatened animals, plants, and fungi that are protected by the law in Ukraine). At one of the positions of the Russian army in the Kherson region, hanged rodents were found, including gray hamsters, which have been under the protection of Ukraine;s law. In addition, before escaping from Kherson, the Russian invaders stole most of the animals from the local zoo and took them to the temporarily occupied Crimea.
During the G20 Summit, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported that as a result of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, 6 million domestic animals died, 50 thousand dolphins were killed in the Black Sea. Thousands of hectares of soil are contaminated with harmful substances.
Energy security.
Ukraine has suspended the pumping of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline in the direction of Hungary due to a voltage drop. In response to the stop in oil transfer through the Druzhba pipeline and the missile hitting territory of Poland, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has convened the Hungarian Defense Council.
The Polish authorities seized Gazprom’s stake in the gas operator Europol Gaz, which was 48%. This company manages the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline, the route of which ends in Germany. Meanwhile, Germany has announced the nationalization of Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE), a former subsidiary of the Russian energy giant Gazprom, previously known as Gazprom Germania.
The Government of Ukraine has exempted from VAT and import duties the purchase of imported energy equipment necessary for the restoration and stable operation of the energy system.
The Government of Great Britain decided to allocate funds to the Energy Support Fund of Ukraine for the restoration of civil infrastructure facilities that were damaged as a result of Russian aggression.
Economic security.
Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhii Marchenko reported that the war caused losses to Ukraine for a third of the national GDP. Further economic losses from the war are expected at the level of 33-35% of Ukraine’s gross domestic product.
At the G20 Summit the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, announced that the country will provide $500 million in additional military assistance for Ukraine, to assist the Armed Forces of Ukraine in defending their country against Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable invasion. Meanwhile, the Netherlands will allocate an additional 15 million euros to support justice in Ukraine.
Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu called on Europe to change its support model for Ukraine and increase it to 1% of the EU’s gross domestic product.
Sanctions.
The Russian Federation imposed sanctions against 100 Canadian citizens, including figures of Ukrainian origin, in particular, the grandson of OUN leader Stepan Bandera. Among the sanctioned persons were Canadian high-ranking officials, businessmen, activists of numerous pro-band organizations, media and financial structures. The list also includes actor Jim Carrey and actress Catherine Vinnik.
The United States imposed sanctions against a transnational network of individuals and companies that help Russia procure military technology for its war against Ukraine. Sanctions affected 14 individuals and 28 legal entities; 8 planes were also blocked.
Digital security.
Thousands of smartphone applications in Apple and Google’s online stores contain computer code developed by a technology company, Pushwoosh, that presents itself as based in the United States, but is actually Russian, Reuters has found. In addition, Russian software disguised as American finds its way into US Army, CDC apps.
Culture.
The British street artist Banksy has confirmed that he has created seven murals in various locations in Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, the suburb of Irpin and the town of Borodyanka – among the places hardest hit by Russian bombardments.
Reading list.
- The Russian Empire Must Die | The Atlantic – Ann Applebaum is sharing her perspective on the role of Russian liberals in the modernization of Russia. However, she underlies that ‘the best way that outsiders can help Russia change is to ensure that Ukraine takes back Ukrainian territory and defeats the empire.’
Podcast recommendation.
- Ukraine: War and Words | BBC Sounds – Listen to the BBC podcast and explore the following questions: What are the differences between the Russian and Ukrainian languages – aside from spellings? Why has Russia for centuries tried to suppress the Ukrainian language? The Russian empire was multi-ethnic and multi-lingual, yet the Tsarist duma voted to prevent Ukrainian’s use in schools. Is there a sensibility difference? Are Ukrainians who write in Russian now pariahs? Is the historic literature of Ukraine written in Russian, for example the work of Gogol, no longer to be considered part of Ukrainian patrimony?
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., November 16, 2022: personnel – around 82 710, tanks ‒ 2871, APV ‒ 5797, artillery systems – 1860, MLRS – 393, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 209, fixed-wing aircraft – 278, helicopters – 261, operational-tactical level UAV – 1525, cruise missiles – 3474, boats and light speed boats – 16, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 4360, special equipment – 160.
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