Russia Ukraine war: Putin makes third attempt to capture eastern city

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.

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.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine said Russian attacks in Kherson, Ukraine, struck a hospital injuring a two-month-old baby girl and killing civillians.

Denise Brown said she was “utterly outraged and deeply disturbed” by the brutal attacks on Monday afternoon.

She added that the attacks killed and injured civilians and an innocent baby girl was hospitalised with a blast injury.

Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson Oblast, said that two people had been killed and a further ten had been injured.

He said in a Telegram post: “Eight vehicles, including an ambulance, an administrative building, a hospital and at least fifteen houses were destroyed or damaged.

“With these blows, the Russians ended the lives of two people. According to detailed information, ten more were injured.”

He added: “As a result of the attack on the hospital, two female medical workers, aged 24 and 41, as well as an 81-year-old patient of the medical facility were injured. All of them have mine-explosive injuries.”

Project HOPE, a global health & humanitarian organization, said their staff were holding a meeting at the hospital at the time.

None of the team were injured. Natalja Iscenko, Project HOPE’s Liaison Officer, said: “While inside, we counted more than 10 explosions, and the walls were shaking. When we got outside and saw the damage and heard of casualties, we realized just how lucky we were.

“If timing had been different, this could have been us.”

The goal to supply Ukraine with one million rounds of ammunition will not be reached, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday.

“It is safe to assume that the one million rounds will not be reached,” he told reporters ahead of a EU Defence council in Brussels.

He also added that he expects other countries to do more to ramp up Ukrainian military aid and hopes the German parliament will approve topping up military aid by four billion euros

Russian air defences destroyed four Ukrainian drones over four Russian regions including the Moscow region overnight, Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement.

The drones were destroyed in Moscow, Tambov, Orlov and Bryansk regions, the ministry said.

Ukrainian forces repelled a total of eight attacks on the battered, strategic city of Avdiivka by Vladimir Putin’s troops in the past 24 hours, said Ukraine’s military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun.

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, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, also revealed Russia’s losses in its current drive for Avdiivka.

He said Mr 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.

It is clear there is little movement on the battlefield, writes Askold Krushelnycky, and that is bad news for Kyiv.

“We are almost halfway through November and we must be prepared for the possibility that the enemy may increase the number of drone or missile strikes against our infrastructure. Russia is preparing for winter,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address on Sunday.

“And in Ukraine, all our attention should be focused on defence, on response to terrorists, on everything Ukraine can do to make it easier for our people to get through this winter and to increase the capabilities of our troops.”

Hungary’s prime minister said Friday he does not support moving forward on negotiations on Ukraine‘s future membership in the European Union, signaling again that his country could pose a major roadblock to Kyiv‘s ambitions to join the bloc.

EU leaders are to decide in mid-December whether Ukraine should be formally invited to begin talks to join the 27-member union, with Hungary seen as a potential obstacle. Unanimity among all member states is required to admit a new country into the bloc, giving Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, a powerful veto.