Wednesday, November 22, 2023

1456 GMT –– Russian President Vladimir Putin told the leaders of the Group of Twenty (G20) that it was necessary to think about how to stop "the tragedy" of the war in Ukraine, some of his most placatory remarks to date about the conflict.

Putin's decision to send troops into Ukraine in February 2022 triggered Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two and the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the depths of the Cold War.

Addressing G20 leaders for the first time since the start of the war, the Kremlin chief said some leaders had said in their speeches that they were shocked by the ongoing "aggression" of Russia in Ukraine.

"Yes, of course, military actions are always a tragedy," Putin told the virtual G20 meeting called by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"And of course, we should think about how to stop this tragedy," Putin said. "By the way, Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine."

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1443 GMT –– Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Russian journalists in Zaporizhzhia region

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Wednesday that a group of Russian journalists had come under attack from Ukrainian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Zaporizhzhia, in southern Ukraine, is one of four regions that Russia claims to have annexed since sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

1302 GMT –– Ukraine troops face 'difficult defence' in east as bitter cold sets in - Zelenskyy

Ukrainian troops face "difficult" defensive operations on parts of the eastern front with bitter winter cold setting in, but forces in the south are still conducting offensive actions, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

Russian troops launched offensives on different sections of the front line in Ukraine's east this autumn, trying to advance on the devastated town of Avdiivka and in the northeast between the towns of Lyman and Kupiansk.

"Difficult weather, difficult defence on the Lyman, Bakhmut, Donetsk and Avdiivka fronts. Offensive actions in the south," Zelenskyy said on Telegram messenger.

1249 GMT –– Ukraine hails new EU aid tranche, hopes for 2024 funding approval

Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed a new 1.5 billion euro aid tranche from the European Union on Wednesday, saying it was key to maintaining the country's macroeconomic stability as war raged on.

Shmyhal also said he hoped for fast approval of the EU's multi-year 50 billion euro program for Ukraine as uncertainty grew over aid from the United States for the next year.

The war with Russia, now in its 21 month, has severely hit the Ukrainian economy, with the government relying heavily on financial support from Western allies for social spending.

The finance ministry said in a statement it hoped to receive one more aid tranche from the EU in December. The EU was the largest financial donor to Ukraine this year, finance ministry data showed.

1252 GMT –– German budget talks won't derail 1.3 bln euros of Ukraine military aid - spokesperson

Germany's pledge to send an additional 1.3B euros ($1.42 billion) in military aid to Ukraine will not be derailed by recent ructions in budget proceedings, a defence ministry spokesperson said.

“The financing of the package announced yesterday in Kiev by the defence minister is secured, at 100%. I want to state that clearly,” the spokesperson said at a press conference.

However, asked about a potential doubling of the country's military aid for Ukraine next year to 8 billion euros, the spokesperson said budget discussions were still ongoing.

0937 GMT –– Kremlin declines to comment on US suggestion that Russia may get ballistic missiles from Iran

The Kremlin declined to comment on a suggestion by White House spokesman John Kirby that Iran may be considering providing Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine.

"We are developing relations with Iran, including in the field of military-technical cooperation, but we do not comment on this information," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a regular news briefing.

Kirby said the United States would monitor the situation between Iran and Russia, and take appropriate action as needed.

0926 GMT –– Ukraine says downed Russian barrage, 'rare' Iran drone

Russia attacked Ukraine with more than a dozen attack drones and a cruise missile, the Ukrainian air force said, claiming to have downed all the drones.

This came as authorities in the southern region of Odesa announced they earlier shot down a rare Iranian-designed attack and reconnaissance drone.

Ukraine has been bracing for an increase in Russian attacks on critical infrastructure –– particularly energy facilities –– as sub-zero temperatures set in.

The air force said the barrage had been launched from southeast Russia and that a combination of air defence units in several central regions had "destroyed all 14 enemy Shahed-131/136 drones."


"The X-22 cruise missile failed to reach its target and landed in Zaporizhzhia region in an open area, and the blast wave damaged private homes. There were no casualties," it added in a statement.

0319 GMT –– Russia claims it destroyed sea drones headed for Crimea

Russian forces have destroyed four Ukrainian sea drones in the Black Sea that were headed for Crimea, the TASS news agency cited Russia's Defence Ministry as saying.

"On November 22, in the western part of the Black Sea, four unmanned boats of the Ukrainian Navy were discovered heading towards the Crimean Peninsula. All detected targets were destroyed," the ministry said.

2332 GMT — Ukraine says Russia sending few troops to Avdiivka battle

Ukrainian officials have said that Russia's military appeared to be sending fewer troops and less equipment into the battle for the shattered eastern town of Avdiivka, seen as a gateway to the capital city of Donetsk region.

Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said there were fewer ground assaults and fewer air strikes on Avdiivka, a town with a pre-war population of about 32,000, which has been under Russian attack for more than a month.

"Russian occupying forces have reduced the number of ground and air attacks, though they still violate the rules of war by shooting at medical teams and evacuation vehicles," Shtupun told national television.

"The invaders are not abandoning their plans to surround Avdiivka. Eight attacks were repelled today."

The head of Avdiivka's military administration, Vitaliy Barabash, said fighting was gripping an industrial district, and Ukrainian forces were holding their positions. "The enemy continues to press on our boys," he told NV Radio. "The main focus for them is drones. And drones again."

Ukraine's military said there also had been an uptick in the number of Russian attacks on nearby Maryinka, a town where control has been disputed for months.

For our live updates from Tuesday (November 21), click here.