“Ukraine is constantly getting stronger” – Ukraine War Update November 17 (Europe Edition)

Preview:

• Zelensky believes that the enemy has fewer missiles than last year and that Ukraine’s air defense is improved
• Three dead and several injured in bombing in Kherson
• Small Russian gains confirmed north of Avdiivka
• AFU wins along Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia border
• UK says Moscow will suffer heavy losses in case of attack on Avdiivka factory
• US Treasury imposes new sanctions on Russian oil transporters and Balkan politicians
• EU looks set to ban sales of precision machinery to Russia

Artillery from the left bank of the Dnipro kills and injures more civilians, cuts off power

One day later Russian strikes in the southern regions, four people were killed, three more civilians were killed Kherson Thursday after the city was shelled by the Russians from the left bank of the Dnipro.

Mortars struck civilian targets, including at least one apartment building in Kherson, on Thursday morning, killing a 68-year-old man and a 75-year-old woman, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Later in the afternoon, Russian artillery fell on the town of Bilozerka, about eight kilometers west of Kherson, killing one person and injuring many others, six of whom were hospitalized, including a teenager. As a result, the area also lost power.

‘We are in a better situation than last year’ in air defense, president tells reporters

At a meeting with the press on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is stockpiling missiles for winter strikes on infrastructure, but Ukraine is better equipped than last year to face the expected attacks.

“My assessment is that they are accumulating (missiles), but they don’t have many more missiles compared to what they had before,” he added. AFP the president was quoted as saying.

After last winter’s airstrikes on the country’s power grid left millions without power or heat, Kiev stepped up its campaign to obtain more surface-to-air missiles and other defense systems to intercept rockets and drones.

“In terms of air defense, we are better than last winter,” Zelensky said, adding that the terrain is now better prepared for outages, with more shelters and charging stations for those experiencing power outages at their home. “The winter will be difficult but not worse than last year.”

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The president acknowledged that there were still gaps in Ukraine’s air defense, particularly around heavily bombed areas of Ukraine. Kharkov, Donetsk And Zaporozhye Regions, AFP reported.

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Operations: Avdiivka

According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces continued their offensive operations near Avdiivka and made verified gains, although the exact timing of this progress is unclear. Geotagged images published Thursday indicates that Moscow’s troops advanced slightly north of the famous Avdiivka coking plant northwest of the city.

Russian military bloggers claimed that Russian forces had taken several positions near the Avdiivka factory and the nearby Terrikon slag heap and that Stepove (8 kilometers / 5 miles northwest of Avdiivka) is now a contested “gray zone”.

Other Kremlin-affiliated bloggers claimed Thursday that Russian forces had also advanced northwest of Krasnohorivka (5 kilometers / 3 miles north of Avdiivka) towards Berdychi (5 kilometers / 3 miles northwest of Avdiivka).

Operations: Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia border

The ISW also reported that Ukrainian forces (AFU) launched attacks along the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regional border on Thursday and confirmed its advances, but again the precise timing of these gains is unclear.

Geotagged images released Thursday show Ukrainian troops repelling Russian attacks west of Novodonetske (12 kilometers / 8 miles southeast of Velyka Novosilka) and confirming that kyiv forces have retaken some local positions.

British Defense Ministry predicts heavy Russian losses

A Twitter update from UNITED KINGDOM The Defense Ministry predicted that Russian forces would suffer “significant” losses in the battle for the Avdiivka coke and chemical plant.

The city’s factory and slag heap have been at the center of intense fighting for months as Moscow’s troops attempt to encircle this strategic stronghold located 12 kilometers from the occupied city of Donetsk.

The British ministry described Russian tactical maneuvers to encircle the city as indicative of a “pincer movement”. Russian troops have indeed made progress in the northern suburbs in recent days, but retaking the coking plant would be too daunting a task, the ministry said.

“The industrial facility provides Ukraine with a localized defensive advantage and Russian forces will likely suffer significant personnel losses if they attempt to attack the installation,” the statement said.

US slaps sanctions on oil price cap violators and Russia-backed agents in Europe

THE WE The Treasury on Thursday cracked down on groups that violated the price cap on transported Russian oil, as well as Kremlin-backed influence peddlers in the Balkans, the Associated Press reported.

The ministry’s Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on three companies based in the United Arab Emirates, as well as eight individuals and six entities in several Balkan countries.

Oil shippers used U.S. service providers to deliver Russian crude at a price above the international price ceiling of $60 a barrel, intended to limit Moscow’s revenue to finance its invasion of Ukraine.

This group of individuals from the Balkans – originally from North Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and other states – was sanctioned for corruption and trying to prevent the governments of these countries from joining Western organizations.

They were described as local politicians and mafia bosses, financed by Moscowwhich would “leverage key jurisdictions to facilitate (Russia’s) aggressive destabilizing activities.”

European Union likely to block shipments to Russia of machinery used to make weapons

Bloomberg News reported this week that the EU appeared ready to ban the export of precision machinery and parts that Russia would use in its arms and munitions manufacturing. They would also be used in drone engines, among other dual-use products.

If passed, the measure would represent the 12th round of EU sanctions aimed at stifling Russia’s military supplies.