Ukraine war: Zelensky warns Russia ramping up attacks on key cities

Following the German defence minister’s claim that the goal to supply Ukraine with one million rounds of ammunition will not be reached, the EU commissioner for industry insisted they would.

At a summit of defence in Brussels, Thierry Breton told reporters that the target would be reached,

“I’m responsible for ammunition production capacity so I can confirm that the target of producing more than a million rounds of ammunition a year, which we set ourselves and which they hope to achieve from spring onwards, will be met,” he said.

Ukraine and Britain have agreed a special mechanism for discounts on war risk insurance for Ukrainian goods exports, including through the Black Sea corridor, the Ukrainian Prime Minister said on Tuesday.

“It will make it possible to make a discount on the cost of insurance against military risks for exporters of all products from Ukraine. This will make the Black Sea corridor more accessible to a wider range of exporters,” Denys Shmyhal said on Telegram messenger.

He said the mechanism involved a pool of British insurance companies.

The fog of misinformation around the war in Ukraine thickened on Monday after Russia’s state news agencies claimed Vladimir Putin was withdrawing troops from the Dnipro river frontline – and then immediately retracted the update.

The potentially significant bulletins were available for about 10 minutes, after which two state news outlets withdrew them without any follow-up.

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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg participated in a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council of the European Union with EU Defence Ministers in Brussels on Tuesday,

On the situation in Ukraine, Mr Stoltenberg highlighted that intense fighting continues. “The situation on the battlefield is difficult. And that just makes it even more important that we sustain and step up our support for Ukraine because we cannot allow President Putin to win,” said the Secretary General.

“Ukraine must prevail as a sovereign independent nation in Europe and it’s in our interest to support Ukraine,” he said.

Ukrainian and Russian sources have noted that weather conditions are impacting the battlespace, according to a war-monitoring think-tank.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that factors such as falling leaves have complicated efforts but not halted operations.

They reported that the Ukrainian ground forces spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Volodymyr Fityo noted on November 13 that rain and mud in Donbas impede the speed of ground maneuver advances.

Ukrainian 14th Mechanized Brigade Spokesperson Nadiya Zamryha stated on November 12 that fog and rain complicate both Russian and Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance efforts and lead to reduced numbers of attacks.

Meanwhile, Russian milbloggers claimed that recent heavy rains led to reduced shelling and that strong winds and rain interfere with Russian drone operations and complicate offensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast

Russian sources also circulated footage purporting to show mud and rain filled Ukrainian trenches.

One person has died and a 72-year-old man has been hospitalised after a Russian drone attack in Nikopol.

The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Serhiy Lyask, posted on Telegram: “A 72-year-old man was injured. He is in the hospital in a moderate condition. Unfortunately, there is also a dead person. Condolences to the relatives… Shame on the occupiers who are fighting with the civilians.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said there has been an increase in attacks from Russia in the Avdiivka, Kup’yansk, Donetsk regions.

He wrote in a Telegram post: “The enemy continues to take revenge on the free Kherson: shelling the city center without any military necessity.”

It comes after Ukrainian forces said that they repelled a total of eight attacks on the battered, strategic city of Avdiivka.

It was earlier reported that Mr Putin was going to make a third attempt at capturing the city known for its large coking plant after failing twice before.

Vitaliy Barabash said Putin’s troops “need” Avdiivka.

“Quite simply, Avdiivka and its strategic position is geographically located on heights and you can see Donetsk… from here,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian area occupied by Russia

Ukraine’s exports through an alternative Black Sea shipping corridor have reached almost four million metric tonnes since the route started operating in August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday.

Ukraine launched a “humanitarian corridor” for ships bound for African and Asian markets to try to circumvent a de facto blockade in the Black Sea after Russia quit a United Nations-brokered deal that had guaranteed Kyiv’s seaborne exports during the war.

Russia has announced it will increase production of its 152mm Krasnopol-M2 laser-guided artillery munitions, the UK Defence Ministry said today.

In their latest intelligence update, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said Russia will improve the rounds weather performance which has already achieved some success with Krasnopol.

The intellegence said Russia utilises uncrewed aerial vehicles to designate targets for Krasnopol, by shining a laser beam at the target.

They added that the limiting factors of the ammunition include low cloud.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and newly appointed British foreign minister David Cameron discussed the Israel-Hamas conflict, relations with China and help for Ukraine during a telephone call on Monday, the State Department said.

“Secretary Blinken and Lord Cameron underscored continuity in the U.S.-UK special relationship and its importance to regional and global security,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a readout of the conversation.