Residential building damaged by a Russian attack on Odesa, Ukraine, November 14, 2024
EA on Times Radio, BBC, and TVP World: Putin Wins, Ukraine Loses in US Election
Thursday’s Coverage: Facing Trump 2.0, Kyiv Confers With US Over Aid
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1627 GMT:
UK military intelligence has confirmed damage to two Russian frigates, at a port inside Russia, from a Ukrainian drone strike on November 6.
The frigates were targeted by a drone in the Caspian Sea port of Kaspiysk.
The analysts assessed, “The Ukrainian UAV highly likely traversed a large area of Russian territory without being intercepted. This will highly likely cause concern to Russian political and military leaders.”
UPDATE 1622 GMT:
At least one civilian has been killed and 19 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.
In addition to the slain woman and 10 wounded in Odesa, (see Original Entry), there were injuries in the Donetsk, Kherson, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Air defenses downed 25 of 29 Iran-type attack drones and 1 of 2 guided missiles.
UPDATE 1606 GMT:
In their first conversation in almost two years, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has asked Vladimir Putin to end his 32 1/2-month invasion and withdraw Russian troops from Ukraine.
Condemning the invasion, Scholz urged Putin in the hour-long call to negotiate with Kyiv to achieve a “just and lasting peace”.
“Germany has unwavering determination to support Ukraine in its defensive struggle against Russian aggression for as long as necessary,” the German Government said in a statement.
UPDATE 0705 GMT:
The Kremlin and Russian State security service FSB have forced the closure of the Gulag History Museum, say “Moscow officials close to the matter”.
Authorities in Moscow announced Wednesday that the museum, which chronicles repression in the Soviet Union, would temporarily close due to “fire safety violations” that “pose a threat to the safety and comfort of visitors”.
But a Moscow government official said, “We’ve sent inspection teams to the museum multiple times this year. They didn’t find any fire safety violations.”
Two officials admitted that Moscow City Hall was pressured to close the museum’s doors at the “strong recommendation from senior Kremlin figures and people from the Federal Security Service”.
The museum was named Europe’s best in 2021. One local official said its future “remains unclear”.
UPDATE 0627 GMT:
A Russian military court has sentenced a theater director to eight years in prison over alleged criticism of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Anastasia Berezhinskaya, 43, was charged with spreading “false information”, “discrediting” the armed forces, and “justifying terrorism”.
Berezhinskaya commented on Russian soldiers killing civilians and destroying cities in the first months of the invasion. Referring to Vladimir Putin, she wrote: “Destroy that bastard. Wipe him off the face of the Earth.”
The director denied in court that her comments about Putin were a call to murder him.
UPDATE 0617 GMT:
Germany has blocked a Russian liquefied natural gas shipment, fulfilling its policy not to import LNG from Moscow.
The shipment left the Yamal LNG facility in Russia, carried by three tankers. It was destined for the Brunsbuttel terminal in northern Germany.
An industry source spoke of “a bit of a political PR stunt”: “The cargo was destined for Brunsbuttel. Someone tried its luck and it seems wanted to check how Berlin would react.”
It is not clear who ordered the shipment.
Germany stopped buying Russian pipeline gas following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. It is importing LNG from the US and elsewhere as well as pipeline gas from Norway.
UPDATE 0612 GMT:
The European Union has begun funding of joint procurement of weapons, including missiles and ammunition, to be sent to Ukraine.
European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager said the EU is investing €300 million to help groups of up to nine member countries buy air defense systems, armored vehicles, and artillery ammunition.
The EU fell short of its goal to supply Kyiv with a million artillery shells by the end of March 2024. It is hoping to reach the target before the end of the year.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: A woman has been killed and more than 10 people injured by Russian missile and drone strikes on Odesa late Thursday.
Among the wounded is a 9-year-old boy. A 22-year-old man is in serious condition.
Governor Oleh Kiper said the “massive” attack hit residential buildings, destroying an apartment block. A church, educational institutions, and vehicles were damaged.
One of Odesa’s main heating pipelines was also struck, forcing the city to shut down a boiler house. The system was responsible for heating 220 apartment buildings, seven kindergartens, and four schools.
A maternity hospital, with 22 babies and 28 people giving birth, is heating itself with a generator as the boiler house is repaired.
Ukraine Presidential Chief of Stafff Andrii Yermak said of the “terrorist attack”: “Putin just likes to fight civilians.”
