Past 24 hours in the war zone
Russian proxy forces launched 9 attacks on Ukrainian positions in Luhansk, Donetsk, and Mariupol sectors, also using heavy artillery and weapons banned by Minsk, according to Ukraine’s Joint-Forces Operation Staff.
Nordstream 2
Foreign policy reports that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and top aides made calls to Senate offices in the past week, urging them to kill amendments that would levy penalties against a range of entities involved in the Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2 without leeway for a White House waiver. It is believed that Russia has built this pipeline to bypass traditional transit countries such as Ukraine and to have greater possibilities for blackmailing the EU by decreasing or cutting gas transit.
Russian troops buildup
As Ukraine doesn’t exclude a Russian invasion in the near future, Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT) concludes based on military personnel and materiel transfers in Russia that the concentration of Russian troops around Ukraine is “roughly on par” with that of the previous crisis times, yet significantly more troops would be amassed if Russia keeps up the deployment pace.
Two US senators have included in the draft National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 a proposal to increase security assistance to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Canada, according to The Globe and Mail citing two sources with knowledge of the deliberations, is considering larger deployments of troops to Ukraine and even redeploying some of the CF-18 fighter jets currently based in Romania.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel says that the European Union must be prepared to enact more sanctions against Russia if the situation in and around eastern Ukraine or on the Belarus-Poland border escalates.
Occupied Crimea
In Russian-occupied Crimea, Russian authorities jailed 21 men for up to 14 days, and fined nine women for coming with flowers, balloons, and cake to greet lawyer Edem Semedlyaev who had spent 12 days in detention for doing his job.
EU resolution against Wagner PMC
The EU parliament had adopted a non-binding resolution welcoming imminent EU sanctions against the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC). Condemning the crimes committed by Wagner, it underscored that as the Russian State bears responsibility for them, therefore they should be treated as Russian proxies.
Coronavirus pandemic
As Ukraine’s Health Ministry reports on 16,943 new COVID-19 cases with 628 deaths recorded on 24 November, Ukraine is going to ensure vaccination against COVID-19 for at least 17 million citizens by the year-end.
National air carrier
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the creation of a national Ukrainian air carrier, while the country’s infrastructure ministry signed a memorandum of cooperation with Airbus, providing for the possibility of leasing or buying 22 aircraft to form the fleet of the future national airline.
History
Read Part 6 of living accounts of Soviet-imposed policy of dekulakization which destroyed the wealthiest farmers in Ukraine of the 1920-1930s:
Dekulakization. How Stalin liquidated the Ukrainian peasant class (Part 6)
On this day in 2018 near the Kerch Strait, the Russian Navy & Coast Guard attacked Ukrainian navy ships, ramming the tug Yani Kapu, firing upon boats Berdiansk and Nikopol, capturing the vessels and Ukrainian sailors. Read our archive article:
Russian attack on Ukrainian ships near Kerch Strait – full chronology
All 24 Ukrainian navy sailors returned to Ukraine only a year later on 7 September 2019 during an exchange of prisoners with Russia. A month later, Russia returned the hijacked ships – plundered and with firearm damage removed.
Maidan museum
The director of the Museum of the Revolution of Dignity Ihor Poshyvailo explains what the museum can offer now, what are its main achievements and obstacles to keeping the memory of the Heavenly Hundred and the Maidan alive and relevant for contemporary times.
