CDS Daily brief (07.11.22) | CDS comments on key events

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Humanitarian aspect:

Over the past day, November 6, as a result of Russian armed aggression against Ukraine, three civilians were killed, and seven more were injured, according to data from Oblasts’ military administrations, published by the deputy head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

As of 9 a.m. this morning, Oblast Military Administrations reported that the Russian army struck nine Oblasts of Ukraine over one day.

• On November   6, the enemy shelled the Kupyansk, Chuguyiv and Kharkiv districts of Kharkiv Oblast. In the Kupyansk district, a Russian anti-tank projectile hit a civilian car moving on the road between populated areas. The 45-year-old car driver was hospitalized with injuries.
• Starting 7:00 a.m., the Russians shelled Kuschove village of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The culture center, warehouse farm premises and private houses came under fire. During the past day, the enemy shelled the Zaporizhzhia, Vasylivka and Polohy districts of the Oblast. 16 reports were received about the destruction of houses (apartments) and infrastructure facilities.
• In Donetsk Oblast, on November 6, 1 civilian died in Bakhmut due to enemy shelling. 5 more were wounded.
• In Mykolaiv Oblast, at night, the Russian military shelled between the villages of the Shirokiv community of the Bashtan district. Preliminary, no victims or destruction were reported.
• At night, the Russians shelled the Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. No victims were reported. The extent of the destruction is being established.

In the Berislav district of the Kherson Oblast, the Russian invaders destroyed a nursery school with fire from the Grad rocket launcher, the Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported. Before the full-scale invasion, this nursery-kindergarten provided care and education for 60 children.

Power outages and critical infrastructure:

The executive director of DTEK energy company said that emergency power cuts in Ukraine would continue for the next two weeks. There is an electricity shortage in the northern and central parts of Ukraine. If there is no new shelling and damage, the repair work will take 2 weeks.

Oleksandr Kharchenko, director of the Center for Energy Research, said during a briefing that the Ukrainian energy system is strong enough to prevent the capital [of Ukraine] from being cut off from the power supply [entirely]. “The endurance of the Ukrainian energy system is sufficient to prevent the disconnection of Kyiv. I don’t see any technical prerequisites for this situation,” the expert noted. Kharchenko emphasized that the outages are controlled so far, while the blackout, which is talked about in the media, is a process of uncontrolled outages in the power system. At the same time, according to him, Ukrainians should be ready for new Russian attacks on the energy system.

Meanwhile, Yuriy Ignat, the Air Force Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman, also said at the briefing that Russia will continue to strike Ukraine’s critical infrastructure, energy facilities, and hydro-technical facilities in the autumn-winter period. “They need to achieve the goal they set. This is a blow to the entire critical infrastructure. This is not only about the [electricity] energy industry because the enemy has already struck the hydro-technical facilities of Ukraine,” Ignat said. He noted that the enemy is not succeeding at the front, but instead has problems with equipment and human resources. “In the autumn-winter period, they want to attack energy facilities first because many people’s livelihood depend on them. And this aerial terrorism will continue by all available means”.

In Zhytomyr, it is currently impossible to restore the operation of some damaged substations after missile strikes on the energy facility, said the mayor of Zhytomyr, Serhiy Sukhomlyn. According to him, some of the city’s industrial enterprises, which consume a lot of electricity, have switched to working at night and on weekends. In addition, in various districts of Zhytomyr, the lights are turned off according to the schedule for several hours. Schools and kindergartens in the city will work as heating points in an emergency. In Zhytomyr, it is planned to equip 36 such points, each of which will be provided with a generator.

The National Enterprise “Energoatom” press service reported that Energoatom is analyzing the impact of a possible explosion by the Russians of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station on the safety of the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant [taking into account the information about the mining of the dam of the Kakhovka reservoir, locks and supports of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and the high threat of the explosion]. It is noted that the destruction of the dam may lead to an irreversible drop in the water level in the Kakhov reservoir, which supplies cooling water for the ZNPP.

Occupied territories:

Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, considers the formation of regional branches of the “Junarmy” (Youth Army) by the Russian invaders in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine to be a manifestation of genocide. By establishing these units in occupied territories, the Russian occupation forces are “turning Ukrainian children against Ukraine and preparing for the entry of volunteer battalions,” he noted. “With such actions, Russia is “instilling” in minors hatred for their native country and a desire to take revenge for the war, but not against the Russians, but against Ukraine. There were such military-patriotic movements even after the occupation of Crimea; now everything is being repeated in the newly occupied territories,” Lubinets added. According to him, the militarized education format has harmful pressure on the minds of children who suffered due to Russian armed aggression. The invaders aim to deprive children of the opportunity to express their Ukrainian identity. “We can also say that such actions are a manifestation of genocide and one of the forms of coercion for further service in the armed forces of the Russian Federation, which indicates another war crime by the Russians and a violation of the norms of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,” the ombudsman emphasized.

[Legally elected Ukrainian] mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov said that the houses of residents of Melitopol and nearby villages are occupied by invaders from the Russian Federation, while all the residents were displaced from some villages. “More than half of the residents of Melitopol were evacuated to the territory under the control of Ukraine or abroad. Up to 60,000 Melitopol residents remained in the city. Instead, the city and the district were massively populated by invaders from Russia – Russians, Chechens, Ossetians, etc.,” Fedorov noted.

Almost 80% of the residents left Kherson, temporarily occupied by Russian troops, reports Ukrinform with reference to the coordinator of the “Kherson Hub” headquarters, Roman Golovnia. About 60,000-70,000 people live in the city now; before the full-scale war, about 320,000 lived there,” the message says. It is noted that the humanitarian situation in occupied Kherson is very difficult. It is impossible to bring medicines or products from the territory of Ukraine, Russian troops have blocked all supplies.

Operational situation

(please note that this section of the Brief is mainly on the previous day’s (November 6) developments).

It is the 257th day of the strategic air-ground offensive operation of the Russian Armed Forces against Ukraine (in the official terminology of the Russian Federation – “operation to defend Donbas”). The enemy tries to maintain control over the temporarily captured territories, concentrates its efforts on restraining the actions of the Defense Forces, and conducts offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivka directions.

Over the past 24 hours, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces have repelled enemy attacks in the areas of Yampil, Andriivka, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Pavlivka, Vodyane, Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk Oblast and Bilogorivka in the Luhansk Oblast. Over the past 24 hours, the enemy has launched 4 missile and 24 air strikes, carried out more than 55 attacks from anti-aircraft missiles. Areas of 30 towns and villages in Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kherson Oblasts were hit by enemy attacks. Near the state border, the enemy shelled Hai in Chernihiv Oblast, Stukalivka, Popivka, Vorozhba in Sumy Oblast, and Novoselivske, Myasozharivka, Vovchansk, Stelmakhivka, Berestove, Ohirtseve, and Strilecha of Kharkiv Oblast.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces’ aviation struck the enemy 22 times the past day. As a result, 20 areas of concentration of enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment, 2 positions of enemy air defense equipment were affected. In addition, Ukrainian air defense units shot down 5 enemy unmanned aerial vehicles.

Over the past day, the Ukrainian missile forces and artillery hit 2 enemy control points, 8 areas of concentration of manpower, weapons and military equipment, an ammunition depot, an electronic warfare station and other important military targets.

In the border areas of the Bryansk and Kursk regions of the Russian Federation, the enemy command deployed two tactical groupings of troops: the “Kursk” grouping (Command and control post – in the area of Starodub) and the “Bryansk” grouping (C2 post – in the area of Rylsk).

The “Bryansk” grouping of troops consists of:

• a combined battalion of the 2nd motorized rifle division (MRD) of the 1st Tank army (TA) (made up of separate units of the 1st motorized rifle regiment and the 1st tank regiment of the division), concentrated near Sevsk village;
• BTG of the 15th motorized rifle regiment of the 2nd MRD of the 1st TA, concentrated in the area of Suziemka village;
• BTG of the 423rd motorized rifle regiment of the 4th tank division of the 1st TA, concentrated near Kister village;
• the consolidated battalion of the 51st parachute airborne regiment of the 106th airborne division, concentrated in the Starodub area;
• the reinforced motorized rifle company of the 254th motorized rifle regiment of the 144th MRD of the 20th Army took positions near Sluchovsk village, covering the road to the town of Pohar and further to Pochep – Bryansk.

It should be expected that within the next two weeks, units of the 6th Army will replace units of the 2nd MRD in the “Bryansk” grouping of troops due to the redeployment of the 2nd MRD to the territory of the Republic of Belarus for the deployment of the “joint Russian-Belarusian grouping of troops.”

The basis of the “Kursk” grouping of troops is the regiment of the so-called “Territorial troops”, reinforced by the Russian Airborne Forces units. They consist of:

• two battalions of the 1244th motorized rifle regiment of the territorial troops; concentrated in the area of Alekseevka;
• the combined battalion of the 76th Air assault division, concentrated near the town of Rylsk;
• the consolidated battalion of the 98th airborne division, concentrated near Glushkovo village;
• BTG of the 488th motorized rifle regiment of the 144th MRD of the 20th Army, concentrated near Suja village.

Both groupings are sufficiently active and aggressive when performing tasks to prevent the regrouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from these directions to more active areas of the front. In particular, the enemy opens fire with mortars and artillery on the border regions of Ukraine from time to time, conducts active aerial reconnaissance using UAVs, and conducts forward presence actions. Thus, during the past week, a unit of the 51st parachute airborne regiment of the 106th airborne division was actively setting up false positions in the south of Starodub, in particular, setting up mock-ups of military equipment.

Also, the formation of the “Belgorod” grouping of troops (up to four BTG and a separate CTG) was noted. They continue to conduct active combat operations along the state border – shelling the territory of Ukraine with mortars, artillery, tanks, and even from time to time with airstrikes.

Thus, in the Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod regions of RF, the command of the enemy’s troops keeps up to ten BTGs deployed.

The morale and psychological state of the personnel of the invasion forces remain low.

Kharkiv direction

• Topoli – Siversk section: approximate length of combat line – 154 km, number of BTGs of the RF Armed Forces – 27-32, the average width of the combat area of one BTG – 4.8 km;
• Deployed enemy BTGs: 26th, 153rd, and 197th tank regiments (TR), 245th motorized rifle regiment (MRR) of the 47th tank division (TD), 6th and 239th TRs, 228th MRR of the 90th TD, 1st MRR, 1st TR of the 2nd motorized rifle division (MRD), 25th and 138th separate motorized rifle brigades (SMRBr) of the 6th Combined Arms (CA) Army, 27th SMRBr of the 1st Tank Army, 252nd and 752nd MRRs of the 3rd MRD, 1st, 13th, and 12th TRs, 423rd MRR of the 4th TD, 201st military base, 15th, 21st, 30th SMRBrs of the 2nd CA Army, 35th, 55th and 74th SMRBrs of the 41st CA Army, 275th and 280th MRRs, 11th TR of the 18th MRD of the 11 Army Corps (AC), 7th MRR of the 11th AC, 80th SMRBr of the 14th AC, 2nd and 45th separate SOF brigades of the Airborne Forces, 3rd and 14th separate SOF brigades, 1st AC of so-called DPR, 2nd and 4th SMRBrs of the 2nd AC.

The enemy shelled the positions of the Defense Forces in the areas of Serebryanka, Nevske, Makiivka, Bilohorivka, Ploshanka, Spirne and Verkhnyokamianske.

In Borivske and Shchedryshcheve of the Luhansk Oblast, the Russian occupiers are conducting mass searches of civilians, confiscating their mobile phones, and kidnapping people in an unknown direction.

In Lysychansk, the enemy “Akhmat” battalion suffered losses. The occupiers lost more than 30 KIA and up to 15 WIA. The enemy carefully conceals the real number of killed.

Donetsk direction

• Siversk – Maryinka section: approximate length of the combat line – 144 km, the number of BTGs of the RF Armed Forces – 13-15, the average width of the combat area of one BTG – 9.6 km;
• Deployed BTGs: 68th and 163rd tank regiments (TR), 102nd and 103rd motorized rifle regiments of the 150 motorized rifle division, 80th TR of the 90th tank division, 35th, 55th, and 74th separate motorized rifle brigades of the 41st Combined Arms Army, 51st and 137th parachute airborne regiment of the 106 airborne division, 31st separate airborne assault brigade, 61st separate marines brigade of the Joint Strategic Command “Northern Fleet,” 336th separate marines brigade, 24th separate SOF brigade, 1st, 3rd, 5th, 15th, and 100th separate motorized rifle brigades, 9th and 11th separate motorized rifle regiment of the 1st Army Corps of the so-called DPR, 6th motorized rifle regiment of the 2nd Army Corps of the so-called LPR, PMCs.

The enemy shelled from tanks and artillery the areas of Andriivka, Soledar, Yakovlivka, Bakhmut, Bakhmutske, Opytne, Mayorsk, Chasiv Yar, Klishchiivka, Zelenopillya, Avdiivka, Pervomaiske, Nevelske, Maryinka, Novomykhailivka, Vuhledar and Opytne.

In Horlivka, an attack was made on the enemy’s equipment concentration area. As a result, 5 combat vehicles were destroyed, and 4 more were damaged. In the area of Mayorsk, the enemy’s daily losses are up to 30 people killed and more than 120 wounded of various degrees of severity.

Zaporizhzhia direction

• Maryinka – Vasylivka section: approximate length of the line of combat – 200 km, the number of BTGs of the RF Armed Forces – 17, the average width of the combat area of one BTG – 11.7 km;
• Deployed BTGs: 36th separate motorized rifle brigade (SMRBr) of the 29th Combined Arms (CA) Army, 38th and 64th SMRBrs, 69th separate cover brigade of the 35th CA Army, 5th separate tank brigade, 37th of the 36th CA Army, 135th, 429th, 503rd and 693rd motorized rifle regiments (MRR) of the 19th motorized rifle division (MRD) of the 58th CA Army, 70th, 71st and 291st MRRs of the 42nd MRD of the 58th CA Army, 136th SMRB of the 58 CA Army, 46th and 49th machine gun artillery regiments of the 18th machine gun artillery division of the 68th Army Corps (AC), 39th SMRB of the 68th AC, 83th separate airborne assault brigade, 40th and 155th separate marines brigades, 22nd separate SOF brigade, 1st AC of the so-called DPR, and 2nd AC of the so- called LPR, PMCs.

The enemy shelled the Defence Forces’ positions in the areas of Hulyaipole, Hulyaipilske, Olhivske, Dorozhnianka, Novopil, Shcherbaky, Novodanylivka, Vremivka and Pavlivka.

The enemy’s command began to increase their efforts in the Vuhledar direction, seeking to strengthen the combat capabilities of their advanced units, which are now trying to break through Pavlika to Vuhledar and simultaneously attacking from the Mykilske direction.

Two days ago, the enemy brought into battle the forces of the 40th separate marines brigade (at least two reinforced companies), which unsuccessfully attacked the positions of the Ukrainian Joint Forces in the direction of Novomayorske – Prychystivka and Shevchenko – Prychystivka.

In the area of Novomykhailivka, the enemy only managed to take several Ukrainian platoon strongholds southeast of the village, but they never made it to the village itself. In the Pavlika area, the enemy managed to take the southeastern part of the village, after which the average daily pace of the offensive dropped sharply, and then the offensive stopped.

The enemy operates here with forces of approximately 4-5 BTGs, assembled and distributed into 2nd tactical groups (conditionally – in Vuhledarsk and Novomykhailivska directions). They consist of the forces and means of:

• the 29th Army (one BTG from the 36th separate motorized rifle brigade)
• the 68th Army Corps (one consolidated BTG from the 18th machinegun-artillery division and 39th separate motorized rifle brigade)
• and several “company-battalion” level units from the composition of the 1st Army Corps (3rd and 5th separate motorized rifle brigades, 11th motorized rifle regiment, two rifle battalions of the mobilization reserve, part of the forces of the “Kalmius” artillery brigade).

In addition, units of the 810th separate marines brigade are acting as separate tactical assault groups trying to capture Pavlivka.

The enemy’s reserves concentrated in this direction consist of:

• up to three combined BTGs from the 136th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 58th Army and the 103rd motorized rifle regiment of the 150th motorized rifle division – between Olhinka and Slavny
• the consolidated battalion of the 37th separate motorized rifle brigade of the 36th Army is restoring combat capability in the operational rear behind the right flank of the 58th Army at a four hours distance to the Pavlovka area.

Tavriysk direction

• Vasylivka – Stanislav section: approximate length of the battle line – 296 km, the number of BTGs of the RF Armed Forces – 39, the average width of the combat area of one BTG – 7,5 km;
• Deployed BTGs of: the 8th and 49th Combined Arms (CA) Armies; 11th, 103rd, 109th, and 127th rifle regiments of the mobilization reserve of the 1st Army Corps (AC) of the Southern Military District; 35th and 36th CA Armies of the Eastern Military District; 3rd AC of the Western Military District; 90th tank division of the Central Military District; the 22nd AC of the Coastal Forces; the 810th separate marines brigade of the Black Sea Fleet; the 7th and 76th Air assault divisions, the 98th airborne division, and the 11th separate airborne assault brigade of the Airborne Forces.

Blahodatne, Davydiv Brid, Dudchany, Myrne, Nova Kamianka and Pravdyne areas suffered fire damage. In addition, the enemy continued to conduct aerial reconnaissance, actively using UAVs; made more than 20 sorties.

The Russian occupying forces continue to grossly violate the laws and customs of war against the civilian population. They continue to search for subversive groups and fire adjusters in Kakhovka. The detainees are taken to Gornostaevka and forced to testify under torture.

In Kherson, disguised in civilian clothes, the Russian military occupied civilians’ houses and set positions inside to conduct street battles. At the same time, Russian propagandist journalists are planning to shoot videos in the city of the alleged destruction of the civilian population by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

Azov-Black Sea Maritime Operational Area:

The forces of the Russian Black Sea Fleet continue to project force on the coast and the continental part of Ukraine and control the northwestern part of the Black Sea. The ultimate goal is to deprive Ukraine of access to the Black Sea and to maintain control over the captured territories.

Due to worsening weather conditions, the enemy keeps only 7 ships at sea. They are located along the southwestern coast of Crimea. There are no Kalibr cruise missile carriers, but a rapid build-up of surface and underwater Kalibr missile carriers to the sea launch areas is possible (about 3-4 hours).

There are 2 enemy patrol ships and boats in the waters of the Sea of Azov on the approaches to the Mariupol and Berdyansk seaports to block the Azov coast.

Enemy aviation continues to fly from Crimean airfields Belbek and Gvardiyske over the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Over the past day, 12 warplanes from Belbek and Saki airfields were deployed.

On November 6, the stormy sea in Odesa brought a sea mine to the coast, which detonated. The danger of a mine threat in the northwestern part of the Black Sea remains. From the end of February 2022, more than 30 sea anchor mines were detected on this area’s sea surface or coast. There is an assumption that a significant number of these mines had deactivation mechanisms deliberately deactivated by the Russian military in the event of the mine detaching from the minrep (fixing cable to the anchor) and floating to the surface.

The missile cruiser of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Federation “Varyag” (011), the large anti- submarine ship “Admiral Tributs” (564) passed the Singapore Strait yesterday, November 6, 2022, on the way to the Vladivostok base from the Mediterranean Sea (they stayed there since February 2, 2022, preparing to go to the Black Sea to attack the Ukrainian shores).

“Grain Initiative” returns to its usual mode after the Russian Federation suspended participation in the initiative. Thanks to this step of the Russian Federation, Turkish inspectors significantly shortened the queue of ships that accumulated in the Sea of Marmara heading for the Bosphorus Strait. First of all, the inspectors inspected ships that had been waiting for 20 days (!!!) or more. Probably, the same characteristics are examined as during the “organized” passage of ships to Ukrainian ports through the Kerch Strait. There are 7 vessels of the “grain fleet” in the Black Sea bound for Ukrainian ports, including 4 dry cargo vessels and 2 tankers: 2 vessels in Odesa port, 2

– in Pivdenny port, and 3 in Chornomorsk. The number of ships (7) corresponds to the average daily figure in October 2022. After the normalization of weather conditions, the ports will continue loading ships with agricultural products.

Russian operational losses from 24.02 to 07.11

Personnel – almost 76,460 people (+530);

Tanks – 2,771 (+6)

Armored combat vehicles – 5,630 (+19);

Artillery systems – 1,782 (+1);

Multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) – 391 (0); Anti-aircraft warfare systems – 202 (0); Vehicles and fuel tanks – 4,199 (+8); Aircraft – 277 (0);

Helicopters – 260 (0);

UAV operational and tactical level – 1,472 (+7); Intercepted cruise missiles – 399 (0);

Boats / ships – 16 (0).

Ukraine, general news

Ukraine returned 50% of the territories occupied by Russia after a full-scale invasion on February

24. This is 37% of the territory occupied since 2014. The map was published by OSINT analyst Def Mon.

The Secretary of the National Security Council, Oleksiy Danilov, announced at a briefing that the assets of strategic enterprises “Motor Sich”, “Zaporizhtransformator”, “AvtoKrAZ”, “Ukrnafta” and “Ukrtatnafta” were transferred to the Ministry of Defense. He stated that this was done “In fulfillment of the decision of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and due to military necessity”. He added that after martial law ends, assets may be returned to their owners, or their value may be reimbursed accordingly. These enterprises are associated with several Ukrainian oligarchs. “Motor Sich” President Vyacheslav Boguslaev is on trial for high treason within the framework of criminal proceedings regarding the illegal supply by Motor Sich of military goods for Russian attack aircraft.

The number of vacancies in Ukraine is increasing, and the number of unemployed is significantly decreasing compared to the time at the beginning of the war. Currently, there are officially 250,000 unemployed people in Ukraine. Due to the occupation, a forced change of residence, the destruction of enterprises, or simply due to downsizing, a large part of Ukrainians remained without work. In Kyiv, the most significant employers’ market demand is currently for teachers, educators, pharmacists, music managers, practical psychologists, doctors, engineers, as well as for representatives of vocational jobs, informed Ukrinform with reference to the Kyiv City Employment Center. Social workers, food vendors, cooks, sales consultants, and security guards are in demand among trade and service workers. Among the equipment maintenance workers are drivers of motor vehicles, tractor drivers, turners, pump machine operators, milling machines, and operators of machine tools with software control.

Ukraine and Moldova resumed the movement of passenger trains on the Kyiv-Chisinau route after a 24-year break.

International diplomatic aspect

“What strikes me – that’s why I use the word ‘tormented’ for Ukraine – is the cruelty, which is not of the Russian people, perhaps… because the Russian people are a great people. It is of the mercenaries, of the soldiers who go off to war as an adventure, mercenaries… I prefer to think of it this way because I have high esteem for the Russian people for Russian humanism. Just think of Dostoevsky, who to this day inspires us, inspires Christians to think of Christianity,” Pope Francis explained his “great affection” for the Russian people and the Ukrainian people.

The Pontiff, indeed, isn’t following the [Russian] social networks with calls for genocide of the Ukrainian people, neither he watches the Russian television where an idea of nuclear Armageddon is just an episode between plans to wipe out Ukrainian cities and start the war against the archenemy – the West. The latest Levada Centre polls. As of November 1, Putin’s

approval is as high as 79%, slightly less (-4%) than a month before, while only 19% disapprove his policies. The war is supported by 73%, while opposed by merely one-fifth.

Most likely, Pope Francis hasn’t watched “Could humans really do this?”: Stories of civilians killed in Bucha” by 60 minutes, “The Atrocities Uncovered in the Liberated Regions of Ukraine” by ABC News, or read “How Russian Soldiers Ran a “Cleansing” Operation in Bucha” by the Associated Press, FRONTLINE, and SITU Research. More than 1,500 new graves have been dug at a mass burial site near Mariupol, which will likely raise the death toll to 30,000. In addition, at least 6,032 Ukrainian children were forcefully deported to Russian territory. This is enough to counter the “Russian humanism” thesis, let alone what Russians have done in Syria, Chechnya, Mali, and a dozen other places across the globe.

“NASAMS and Aspide air defense systems arrived in Ukraine!” twitted Ukraine’s Minister of Defense.

The German government is looking into the possible involvement of oil and gas producer Wintershall Dea in business that supports Russia’s war over Ukraine. Spiegel and ZDF published their investigation that the company supplies its gas condensate that is likely, used as jet fuel for the Russian military.

Russia, relevant news:

In October, sales of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia fell by 62.8% compared to October 2021, reports Kommersant with reference to data from the Association of European Business (AEB). According to the association, 502,500 cars were sold since the beginning of the year.

The sales of cars of the following brands fell the most in October compared to last year: Volkswagen (-100%),

Volvo (-99%),

Lexus (-99%),

Land Rover (-98%),

Toyota (-98%),

Mitsubishi (-98%),

Porsche (-96%).

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