Key developments on Nov. 16-17: * Russia launches one of the largest aerial strikes on Ukraine, targets energy grid * EU has 'convincing' evidence of reported Chinese attack drone production for Russia, media reports * Russia producing thermobaric drones, capable of causing 'terrifying' civilian harm, AP reports * Ukrainian partisans say they sabotaged railway
Editor's note: This article is an on-site version of KI Insights' The Week Ahead newsletter covering events from Nov. 18-Nov. 24. Sign up here to start your week with an agenda of Ukraine-related events, delivered directly to your inbox every Sunday. The G20 Summit will take place in Brazil on
"We all understand how important it is to see an end to the violence in Ukraine, to see an end to conflicts around the world," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Bloomberg during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, which took place between Nov. 15-16.
The billionaire reposted a modified excerpt from Zelensky's interview with the Suspilne broadcaster shared on X by the @visegrad24 account, which read: "The U.S. cannot force us to 'sit and listen' at the negotiating table. We are an independent country."
"As we approach 1000 days since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia shows it has no intention of ceasing its aggression," said Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp.
Russia attacked Ukraine with a hypersonic 3M22 Zirkon missile, seven air-launched Kinzhal missiles, 85 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles, one Iskander-M ballistic missile, four anti-radar Kh-22/31P missiles, five Kh-59/69 aerial guided missiles, and 90 drones.
"This is war criminal Putin’s true response to all those who called and visited him recently. We need peace through strength, not appeasement," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Nov. 17.
"President Biden condemned the deployment of thousands of (North Korean) troops to Russia, a dangerous expansion of Russia’s unlawful war against Ukraine with serious consequences for both European and Indo-Pacific peace and security," the White House statement read.
Russia targeted thermal power plants during a mass strike on the country's power grid on Nov. 17, dealing "serious damage," said the country's largest private energy company, DTEK.
This number includes 1,640 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the pa
Two people were killed and seven injured, including two children, in the city of Mykolaiv amid Russia’s mass drone and missile attack, regional governor Vitalii Kim reported on Nov. 17.
Russia targeted "power generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine," according to Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko.
The Atesh partisan group sabotaged a key railway in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, disabling electrical equipment and causing disruptions to Russia's military supply chain, the group claimed on Nov. 16.
The latest aid package will include an unspecified amount of munitions and equipment, including naval uniforms, observation equipment, sights, and protective equipment, Estonia's Defense Ministry said.
North Korea has provided Russia with 50 domestically produced self-propelled howitzers and 20 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), the Financial Times (FT) reported on Nov. 16, citing a Ukrainian intelligence assessment.
Thermobaric warheads create a wave of high pressure and heat that is capable of penetrating thick walls, AP reported. The damage caused by thermobaric attack drones would cause damage that would be "simply terrifying" for civilian populations to endure, including collapsed lungs, crushed eyeballs, and brain damage, according to a source familiar with Russian drone production.
Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Nov. 16 during an unannounced visit to the capital, marking his first trip to Ukraine since being appointed to the post in September.
A day after videos showed Russian troops planting their flag in a grey zone near the border in Ukraine's Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service released a video showing a drone destroying the flag on Nov. 16.
The United States will partner with Ukraine to transition Ukraine's coal-fired plants to small modular nuclear reactors, and to use them to help decarbonize its steel industry, the countries announced on Nov. 16 at the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) released a statement reaffirming their "unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes" and commitment to "severe costs" for Russia on Nov. 16.
Russia's Gazprom Export announced that its supply of natural gas to Austria is ending on Nov. 16, according to OMV, Austria's largest gas supply company.
A drone unit in the National Guard's 27th Pechersk Brigade destroyed a Russian anti-aircraft missile BUK-M1 system worth $10 million, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Nov 16.
Ukraine must do everything possible to end the war through diplomatic means, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a wide-ranging interview with Suspilne broadcast on Nov. 16.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan discuss the war in Ukraine and involvement of North Korean troops in the fighting during the upcoming G20 Summit in Brazil next week, German media reported on Nov. 15.
Russia has lost 719,240 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Nov. 15.
Japan's Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit overnight on Nov. 16 in a show of Tokyo's support for the besieged country.
Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has received over $100 billion in foreign-backed external financing to support Ukraine's state budget, the country's finance ministry announced on Nov. 15.
In a letter seen by Reuters on Nov. 15, two senior Democratic senators argued that Musk’s involvement in SpaceX programs should be reviewed for potential debarment and exclusion due to his communications with Russian officials.
In a statement released on Nov. 15, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the children who returned home from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast include four boys, aged between 1.7 and 17. According to the Ukrainian government’s database, Russia has illegally abducted over 19,500 children since February 2022.
Key developments on Nov. 15: * Scholz condemns war, urges Russia to negotiate with Ukraine in first call with Putin in nearly 2 years * Drone attack reported in Russia's Krasnodar region, explosions heard near military airfield * Russian troops plant flag at border in Chernihiv Oblast, Border Guard says no major offensive
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's call with Russian President Vladimir Putin opens a "Pandora's box," potentially leading to "other conversations and other calls," President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in his evening address on Nov. 15.
The war "will end faster" under the policies of Donald Trump’s administration, set to take office in January 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Nov. 15 interview with Suspilne.
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