Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian combat drone training centre and three radar stations over the course of Tuesday in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defence Ministry has reported.
That is one of many advances that the Russian military and the forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic who are pushing back the Ukrainian Army on a number of fronts.
The ministry stated: ‘The strikes destroyed the Ukrainian army’s centre for the training and combat use of unmanned aerial vehicles, an aviation fuel storage facility and three aerial target detection and tracking radars – two P-18s and one ST-68.
‘Russian forces stopped four Ukrainian army attacks in the Kupyansk area over the past day, the ministry reported.
‘In the Kupyansk direction, units of the western battlegroup conducted active operations with the support of aircraft and artillery fire and repulsed four attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 57th mechanised brigade near the settlement of Sinkovka in the Kharkov Region.
‘The enemy’s losses amounted to 30 personnel and a D-20 howitzer.
‘Russian soldiers also inflicted damage on Ukrainian army personnel and military hardware in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating roughly 40 enemy troops over the past day.
‘Russian forces have repulsed three Ukrainian army attacks in the Donetsk area, killing 135 enemy troops.
‘In the south Donetsk direction, units of the battlegroup East acting in interaction with army aircraft and artillery inflicted damage by firepower on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 58th motorised infantry, 72nd mechanised and 128th territorial defence brigades in areas near the settlements of Novomikhailovka, Ugledar and Urozhainoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
‘The enemy’s losses amounted to 75 personnel and two motor vehicles.
Russian forces defeated a Ukrainian army attack and inflicted damage on two enemy brigades in the Zaporozhye area over the past day, the ministry reported.
The ministry added: ‘The enemy’s losses in the Zaporozhye direction over the past 24 hours amounted to 65 personnel and two US-made M113 armoured personnel carriers.
Russian forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian army units in the Kherson area, killing and wounding roughly 40 enemy troops and destroying an artillery gun over the past day, the ministry reported.
Russian air defence forces intercepted two rockets of the US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system and destroyed six Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on Monday night and Tuesday.
During the last 24-hour period, operational/tactical and army aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile troops and artillery of the Russian groupings of forces inflicted damage on the Ukrainian army’s manpower and military hardware in 103 areas, the ministry reported.
In all, the Russian Armed Forces have destroyed 542 Ukrainian warplanes, 255 helicopters, 9,263 unmanned aerial vehicles, 442 surface-to-air missile systems, 13,659 tanks and other armoured combat vehicles, 1,185 multiple rocket launchers, 7,194 field artillery guns and mortars and 15,698 special military motor vehicles since the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the ministry reported.
Meanwhile, NATO serves to contain Russia and sacrifices the Ukrainian people in the fight against Russia, Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.
Peskov said: ‘NATO considers Russia an adversary.
‘NATO is an alliance that was created as tool of confrontation. It was so conceived.
‘Its architecture was built in such a way that it is, in fact, an element of confrontation and an instrument of containment of our country in one way or another.
‘No matter whatever is invented there, no matter what statements may be made, the main purpose of the alliance is exactly that.
‘Naturally, the alliance is analysing the situation. The alliance sees the real state of affairs. For now, the alliance does not abandon its plans to contain Russia and, in fact, to use the Ukrainian people as a sacrificial lamb in the fight against Russia.
‘We understand this perfectly well and are building our further policy precisely in accordance with these realities. The special military operation continues,’ Peskov said.
Earlier, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said ahead of the November 28-29 meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers in Brussels that Ukraine’s inability to move the front line even with extensive NATO assistance confirmed that Russia should not be underestimated, but the alliance should still continue to support Kiev.
He argued that it was not in NATO’s security interests to let Russia gain the upper hand in the conflict in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg also said that the North Atlantic allies had provided 100 billion euros worth of assistance to Ukraine in the conflict with Russia and intended to continue supporting Kiev, because they believe that such an approach met their collective security interests.
NATO needs to be prepared for more fighting in Ukraine, the bloc’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said upon arrival to a meeting of NATO foreign ministers.
Stoltenberg continued: ‘We will, of course, discuss the situation in Ukraine.
‘We see intense fighting along the frontline and we have seen waves of drone attacks against Ukrainian cities and we need to be prepared for more fighting and also more air and missile attacks against Ukrainian cities.
‘This just makes it even more important that NATO Allies continue to support Ukraine.’
He also said that he was ‘very careful predicting the developments along the frontline because wars are by nature unpredictable.
‘The frontline has not moved over the last year,’ he added.
Stoltenberg also welcomed plans by Germany and the Netherlands to allocate up to ten billion euros (£8.7 billion) in military aid to Ukraine in 2024, as well as NATO countries’ decision to create a coalition to ‘coordinate efforts to provide air defence to Ukraine’.
He continued: ‘Allies are doing a lot and I also expect at the meeting today and tomorrow that allies will reiterate their strong support to Ukraine.’
Stoltenberg was ‘confident that the United States will continue to provide support’ to Kiev, despite budget issues.
On Wednesday, Brussels hosted the first foreign ministers’ meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council. Meanwhile, NATO and US officials have already said they don’t expect any practical decisions to be made at the meeting.
According to Stoltenberg, participants will discuss how they can ‘move Ukraine and NATO even closer together’, with the understanding that Ukraine cannot join the bloc in the midst of an armed conflict.
- Ukrainian military personnel are getting fed up with not having enough supplies, President Vladimir Zelensky and the top brass, reports in the German media have stated.
One soldier said in an interview: ‘We and our fellow soldiers have to pay for the repairs of equipment and fuel from their own cash allowances.’
‘Other soldiers have told me that most movements on the frontline are done exclusively in the evening or after hours to avoid detection by drones.
‘A number of servicemen are increasingly angry with President Vladimir Zelensky and his government.
‘Where all the funding that Kiev has received was going. Some of us increasingly feel as if they have been left in the lurch.
- Russia has begun to supply grain free of charge to Africa, Special representative of the Russian President for the Middle East and African countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov has said.
Bogdanov said: ‘As part of ensuring food security on the African continent, which is really of great interest to our African partners, the implementation of free supplies of Russian grain to a number of countries on the continent has begun.
‘Russian President Vladimir Putin named these states: Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, CAR (Central African Republic), Eritrea and other African countries.
Bogdanov was speaking at the 9th International Scientific Expert Forum Primakov Readings in Moscow on Tuesday.
