Ukraine war: Russia 'capable of nothing but destruction' - Heavy fighting in Donbass

Created: 11/29/2022, 4:55 am

By: Sandra Kathe, Caspar Felix Hoffmann, Karolin Schäfer, Moritz Serif, Tim Vincent Dicke, Nail Akkoyun, Andreas Apetz, Jan-Frederik Wendt, Christian Stör

Fierce fighting is raging in Donbass, while Russia fears Ukrainian airstrikes.

The news ticker on the Ukraine war.

• Battles in Donbass:

  The battles are centered on the areas around Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

• Emergency shutdowns:

  The capital Kiev is still struggling with power outages.

• Editor's note:

  Read the latest developments in the Ukraine conflict in our news ticker.

  The information on the Ukraine war processed here comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine.

  They can therefore not be independently checked in part.

+++ 10:30 p.m .:

Ukraine wants to hold Russia accountable for Vladimir Putin’s campaign and the resulting consequences.

This was announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his daily video address.

"The main theme of all these events is Russia's responsibility for war and terror," he said, referring to talks with foreign politicians and Western institutions.

Selenskyj accused the Russian occupiers of destructiveness.

"Well, what can one say about her?

This is the true essence of these random comrades who have taken over Russia,” the head of state said of the recent attacks.

After 20 years of rule, a large part of the Russian state is as ruined as if there had been a war there.

"They are capable of nothing but destruction," the president accused Russia.

“And what they are doing against Ukraine now is their attempt to take revenge.

To take revenge for the fact that the Ukrainians have repeatedly defended themselves against them.” Zelenskyy announced that his country would defend itself with all means in the Ukraine war.

War in Ukraine: Russia wants to encircle Bakhmut

+++ 9.35 p.m .:

Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are fighting heavy battles in the Donbass.

The region around Bakhmut in the Donetsk region is particularly hotly contested.

The city is considered an important target for the Russian armed forces.

Faced with the Ukrainian offensive, they had to withdraw from many areas.

Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting fiercely in the Donbass.

(Archive image) © David Peinado/imago

The Russian army is about to encircle Bakhmut, Denis Pushilin, the Russian-appointed ruler in the region, said on Russian television.

According to

, thousands of people live there without electricity and running water.

"The situation in Bakhmut remains difficult, but our units, especially the Wagner group unit, are definitely making progress," he claimed.

The Wagner Group is a notorious mercenary force that fights alongside the Russian military.

News on the Ukraine war: "Putin uses winter as a weapon"

+++ 8.40 p.m .:

At the meeting of foreign ministers in Bucharest, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg expects new talks about the delivery of additional air defense systems to Ukraine.

He expects the message to go out from the meeting that more needs to be done in providing air defense systems, Stoltenberg said on Monday.

This also applies to the delivery of spare parts and ammunition as well as the training of soldiers.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to use winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine, the secretary-general said.

"We must help Ukraine to defend itself against this horrible kind of warfare." Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure in recent weeks.

Already on Friday (November 25) Stoltenberg emphasized that the delivery of German Patriot anti-aircraft systems would also be possible.

Ukraine War: Heavy fighting in Donbass

+++ 8:00 p.m .:

It’s getting cold in Ukraine.

But the fighting in Donbass in the east of the country is defying the cold, snow and rain.

Dozens of Russian attacks are repelled by Ukrainian soldiers every day, Serhiy Cherevatyy, spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Army, informed on Monday.

In the center of the fighting are areas around Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

According to the spokesman, the Russian military mainly uses barrel artillery, rocket and mine launchers and tanks in its attacks.

Fighter planes would also be used in support.

In the contested regions, the Russian army carries out around 200 artillery strikes a day.

"But despite these efforts, the enemy has not been able to break through our defenses for months," said Cherevaty.

New on the Ukraine war: "There is no loud voice against Putin's policies"

+++ 6.30 p.m .:

In Russia there is no great resistance to the Russian Vladimir Putin and the Ukraine war – at least that’s what the Ukrainian writer Andrei Kurkov thinks.

"There is no loud voice against Putin's policies, against this aggression," neither from the people in Russia nor from outside emigrants, he said on Monday at an awards ceremony in Munich.

"That's incredible.

How can a large society with such a rich culture of resistance remain silent now?”

Kurkow receives the Geschwister-Scholl-Prize for his work "Diary of an Invasion".

The war is not a good time to read books, the author said.

He himself only reads with “many difficulties”; he would much rather find out about current developments or contact friends and family.

With poetry, however, it is different.

“People need poetry now.” Hundreds of them come together for poetry evenings in air raid shelters or subway stations.

"This is a very emotional time."

News on the Ukraine war: "We are fighting a terrorist state"

+++ 5.10 p.m .:

The Russian military has repeatedly carried out attacks in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

In those nine months, Russia launched more than 16,000 missiles at its neighbor, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Twitter.

97 percent of Russian attacks were aimed at civilian targets.

“We are fighting a terrorist state.

Ukraine will prevail and bring war criminals to justice,” the minister stressed.

Reznikov published an infographic and showed that the Russian airstrikes hit more than 12,300 settlements, 1,900 residential buildings and 200 energy infrastructure facilities.

In addition, more than 500 military facilities were damaged.

News about the Ukraine war: emergency shutdowns in Kyiv

+++ 4:20 p.m .:

Five days after massive Russian rocket attacks, the Ukrainian capital Kiev continues to struggle with unannounced emergency shutdowns in the power supply.

55 percent of households are affected, said the military administration of the three million city on Monday via Telegram.

The emergency shutdowns should not last longer than five hours.

The local supplier had previously announced that each customer would be able to have at least four hours of electricity per day.

Repairs to the damage are ongoing.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the power supply problems would continue until spring.

In Kyiv, since the start of massive Russian rocket attacks on the energy infrastructure in mid-October, electricity in many parts of the city has only been available by the hour.

Ukraine war news: Russian cities prepare for airstrikes

+++ 3.15 p.m .:

According to media reports, signposts to bomb shelters have been hung up in several Russian cities.

"In Rostov-on-Don, such a sign has been set up in the city center," reported the Internet portal

on Monday.

Above all, regions near the Ukrainian border are affected by this official measure.

There are also reports from the cities of Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk.

In Belgorod, which is around 40 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, 700 such signs are to be installed by the end of November.

The city with around 350,000 inhabitants has been shelled several times since the beginning of the war.

Russia blames Ukraine, which usually does not comment on the allegations.

But it's not just cities in Russia near the border that are taking precautionary measures.

The authorities in the city of Novokuznetsk, where bomb shelters and corresponding signs have now also appeared, were particularly careful.

Novokuznetsk is located in southern Siberia, a good 3000 kilometers as the crow flies from Ukraine.

News on the Ukraine war: Kyiv fears Russian attacks on energy infrastructure

+++ 14:04:

Ukraine has warned that Russia's military is preparing a new wave of attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.

According to an army spokeswoman, a Russian warship with missiles on board was recently transferred to the Black Sea.

"This indicates that preparations are underway," the spokeswoman said.

"It is very likely that the beginning of the week will be marked by such an attack."

According to the Ukrainian Navy, a total of eleven Russian warships are currently in the Black Sea off the coast of Ukraine, and others are stationed in the Sea of ​​Azov and the Mediterranean.

News about the Ukraine war: dispute between Selenskyj and Klitschko

+++ 12.17 p.m .:

The relationship between the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko is apparently tense.

After the capital Kyiv was without power for several days after massive Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure, Selenskyj criticized unusually clearly.

"Many Kievans were without electricity for more than 20 or even 30 hours," the president complained in a video language.

He expects a better job from City Hall.

He didn't explicitly mention the mayor's name, but it was clear to everyone who he was referring to.

The former world boxing champion then warned of political disputes.

The

said Klitschko: "The key to Ukraine's success after Russia's attack on our country is cohesion, both nationally and internationally." The mayor later reiterated his position.

"I don't want to get involved in political battles, especially in the current situation.

It's pointless.

I have other things to do," he wrote on Telegram.

Selenskyj and Klitschko are considered political competitors.

Since the beginning of the invasion, however, they have not allowed their different perspectives to penetrate the public.

News about the Ukraine war: Kadyrov wants to destroy "evil spirits" and "Nazis".

+++ 10.23 a.m .:

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov justified the Ukraine war with a higher goal.

“For us, the result of the military special operation is the complete annihilation of the manifestations of Satanism: the evil spirits (...), the Nazis.

There are many definitions for them, but the essence is always the same.

Their true essence is the absence of humanity, of principles of morality, and of the propagation of evil.

That's why they are Satanists for us," wrote the ruler of the Russian republic of Chechnya, known as "Putin's bloodhound," on the Messenger service Telegram.

News about the Ukraine war: New ambassador appeals to Germany

+++ 9.02 a.m .:

Oleksiy Makeyev, the new Ukrainian ambassador in Berlin, has called on Germany to provide the war-torn country with equipment to prevent power outages and other weapons.

"We need generators and auto-transformers, which are particularly affected by Russian rocket attacks," Makeyev said in the

.

In the capital Kyiv, there is currently only a few hours of electricity a day.

Transformers are required to provide lower voltages for the electricity supply from the high-voltage grid.

In addition, Ukraine continues to need air defense systems from Germany, such as the Iris-T system provided, as well as other weapons, although Makeyev did not explicitly mention battle tanks.

"German weapons save lives," he said.

Talks are being held with the federal government about further deliveries.

Makeyev stressed that Ukraine wants to retake all of its territory, including the Crimean Peninsula, which was occupied by Russia in 2014.

News about the Ukraine war: Selenskyj warns of a hard winter

+++ 7.21 a.m .:

The Ukrainian head of state Volodymyr Zelenskyj has prepared his compatriots for a hard winter with violent Russian attacks.

"As long as they have missiles, they will not rest," Zelenskyy said of the Russian armed forces in his daily video address on Sunday evening (November 27).

The Ukrainian army is preparing to repel further shelling, Zelenskyy said.

"Russia is trying to use the cold against people this winter," he said, referring to Moscow's targeted attacks on Ukrainian power and thermal power plants.

The President called on Ukrainians to give special support to those in need during the cold season.

Now cohesion is required.

"Together we will get through anything."

News about the Ukraine war: progress in power supply in Kherson

Update from Monday, November 28, 6:53 a.m .:

Ukraine, which is defending itself against Russian troops, has reported further progress in supplying electricity to the recently liberated regional capital of Kherson in the south.

In the meantime, around 17 percent of households have been connected to the electricity grid again, regional governor Yaroslav Yanuschevych announced on Sunday evening (November 27).

The deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, published a photo taken in the dark on Telegram, which shows individual illuminated house windows.

News on the Ukraine war: Russia leaves behind “huge destruction” – is China supplying new weapons?

+++ 10:30 p.m .:

There is currently speculation about arms deliveries from China to Russia.

The news portal

reports that several An-124 transport planes were sighted in China last week.

Some of the Russian planes reportedly turned off their tracking devices, the report said.

Further details are not known.

The above information cannot be independently verified.

+++ 8:00 p.m .:

The extent of the devastation after the withdrawal of Russian troops from the city of Cherson is gradually becoming apparent.

After the victory of the Ukrainian military in the capital of the oblast of the same name, reports of damage have increased, some of which are forcing the population to flee.

The UN Emergency Relief Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, lamented the state of the city: "The level of destruction, the scale of the destruction that is needed in the city and the province - it is tremendous," the

news agency quoted the UN coordinator.

The UN supply squads are helping the city with food, water, medicine, blankets and mattresses.

Circumstances in Kherson are also so critical due to the destruction of power lines and infrastructure.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, only about five percent of residents currently have light in their apartments again.

"Of course, there is a need to act quickly before it becomes an absolute catastrophe," said UN coordinator Brown.

News about the Ukraine war: "Mothers of Russia" start petition against Putin's mobilization

+++ 5.45 p.m .:

A group of Russian soldiers’ mothers has joined an activist group and is now demanding the withdrawal of Moscow troops from Ukraine.

As reported by

, the women started an online petition on Sunday (November 27).

The petition of the "Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance group" (original: "Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance group") was already signed by more than 1,500 after a few hours, and the trend is rising.

“In many regions, the families of the mobilized [soldiers] had to assemble their own equipment for their men who were being sent to their deaths, buying everything at their own expense, even bulletproof vests.

Who will care for families who have lost their breadwinners?

We know the answer - all this hardship will be an extra burden on mothers' already overburdened shoulders," the petition reads.

Regardless of nationality and religion, the “mothers of Russia” wish only one thing: “to live in peace and harmony, raise our children under a peaceful sky and not be afraid for their future.” Only on Friday (November 26) did President Putin received twelve selected mothers of soldiers at his residence in Novo-Ogaryovo on the occasion of Mother's Day.

After the meeting, some voices accused Vladimir Putin of cover-up.

News about the Ukraine war: Explosions after Russian rocket hits - sirens wail in Krywyi Ri

+++ 5 p.m .:

Several explosions occurred in the Ukrainian city of Krywyi Rih on Sunday morning.

Military Governor Valentyn Reznichenko then announced that two Russian missiles had destroyed a transport infrastructure building.

He also called on the population to hole up in air-raid shelters.

According to consistent media reports, several houses in Krywyi Rih were also destroyed.

The rescue workers' sirens wailed into the evening hours.

+++ 3.45 p.m .:

Four days after the heavy Russian rocket attacks on the Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the state network operator Ukrenergo said on Sunday (November 27) that the power generators were again covering almost 80 percent of the energy requirements.

Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure since early October, admitting that the country's energy facilities are the main target.

Recent large-scale attacks led to power outages across Ukraine, including in Kyiv.

The power supply had been restored there since the morning.

News about the Ukraine war: Targeted attacks on the civilian population in Cherson

+++ 3:00 p.m .:

According to the regional military administration, the Russian army has fired on the Cherson region, which was recaptured by Ukrainian troops, more than 50 times since Saturday (November 26).

Military Governor Yaroslav Yanushevich accused Russia on Sunday (November 27) of terror and targeted attacks on the civilian population.

On Telegram he reported one dead and two injured.

Shells would also have hit residential buildings.

Several towns along the north-western bank of the Dnipro River were under fire, sources said.

The information was not independently verifiable.

Ukraine war news: Russia hits power lines supplying Cherson

+++ 1:15 p.m .:

On Sunday morning (November 27), Russian forces fired rockets at the power lines that supply Cherson.

Electricity technicians managed to repair the grid in less than half an hour.

Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the military administration of Kherson Oblast, announced this on Telegram.

News about the Ukraine war: Increase in fighting possible in the coming weeks

+++ 10.40 a.m .:

An increase in fighting in Ukraine in the coming weeks is possible.

This was announced by the Institute for War Studies (ISW).

The overall pace of operations along the frontline has slowed over the past few days due to deteriorating weather conditions, but is likely to pick up over the next few weeks as temperatures drop and ground freezes across the area.

News about the Ukraine war: Russia is planning a new wave of covert mobilization

+++ 9.35 a.m .:

The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces expects that a new wave of covert mobilization will take place in Russia and also in the occupied territories in Ukraine.

The General Staff announced this on Facebook.

"According to the available information, preparations are underway for the launch of a new wave of covert mobilization of the occupying Russian army on December 10 in the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine."

News on the Ukraine war: At least 13 injured after further rocket attacks

Update from Sunday, November 27, 7:26 a.m .:

Two days before the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Bucharest, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised Germany's military support for Ukraine.

Germany's "strong support" makes a "crucial difference".

First report from Sunday, November 27, 6:10 a.m.:

At least 13 people were injured in renewed Russian rocket attacks on the Ukrainian industrial city of Dnipro.

This was announced by the military governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Valentyn Resnichenko, on his Telegram channel on Saturday.

(mse/cs/aa/jfw/cas/ska/nak with dpa/AFP)