News Feed

9:09 PM

Zelensky signs 2024 state budget.

State budget revenues were set at Hr 1.78 trillion ($49 billion), while expenditures were almost double, at Hr 3.35 trillion ($93 billion).

8:30 PM

Parliament chairman: Ukraine to open office in European Parliament.

The proposed move would help increase the compatibility of Ukraine's parliament with European institutions, Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk said, and would allow Ukrainian lawmakers to observe the operations and functions of the European Parliament.

8:11 PM

Finland to close entire border with Russia for 2 weeks.

Finland will shut the border crossing point of Raja-Jooseppi from Nov. 30 to Dec. 13, which means its entire border with Russia will be closed for two weeks, the Finnish government said on Nov. 28.

7:12 PM

War crimes

Olenivka POW camp, where Ukrainians were tortured, was likely supervised by a high-ranking official from Moscow.

Kirill Popov, the first deputy head of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service's Moscow branch, is likely to have overseen the work of the Olenivka POW camp, located in the occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast.

7:05 PM

EU Council approves further funding for training of Ukrainian soldiers.

The Council of the European Union approved on Nov. 28 an additional 194 million euros ($213 million) for its training mission for Ukrainian soldiers, bringing the total funding to around $280 million.

6:37 PM

Baltic foreign ministers to boycott OSCE meeting over Russian delegation's presence.

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania released a joint statement on Nov. 28 saying they will boycott the upcoming Organization for Security and Co-operation (OSCE) meeting due to the planned attendance of a delegation from Russia.

6:26 PM

RFE/RL: Russian man sentenced to 12 years in prison for fighting with Ukrainian militia.

The man, 35-year-old Yevgeny Kazantsev, had lived in Ukraine for a long period of time and allegedly joined the militia in 2015 to fight against Russian proxy forces in Donbas, local Russian media said.

6:21 PM

War crime

Faces of torture: Investigation into Russians, collaborators who abused Ukrainian POWs

6:16 PM

Stoltenberg: NATO's European members, Canada providing half of military support for Ukraine.

NATO's European members and Canada provide almost 50% of the military support Ukraine receives to repel Russian aggression, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a meeting of the alliance’s foreign ministers on Nov. 28.

5:09 PM

Media: EU to likely ban trade of Russian diamonds.

The European Union will likely ban the trade of Russian diamonds as part of its upcoming 12th sanctions package, France24 said on Nov. 28, citing internal documents seen by AFP.

3:59 PM

Ukraine, Italy start talks on security guarantees.

Ukraine and Italy began negotiations on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees under the Group of Seven (G7) Joint Declaration of Support for Ukraine, the Presidential Office reported on Nov. 28.

3:45 PM

Russian air strike on Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast injures 4.

A Russian air strike on Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast on Nov. 28 injured four female employees of a local workshop, the Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported.

3:35 PM

Kuleba to boycott OSCE meeting over Russian delegation's presence.

The Ukrainian delegation will not attend the upcoming Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting of foreign ministers due to the presence of Russian representatives, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said on Nov. 28.

3:28 PM

Media: Iran finalizes deal to buy Russian fighter jets, helicopters.

Iran has finalized arrangements for the delivery of Russian Su-35 fighter jets and Mil Mi-28 attack helicopters, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Mahdi Farahi told Tashim news agency on Nov. 28.

3:03 PM

Reuters: Russia's oil trade with India faces currency obstacle.

Russia's oil trade with India, one of its most important buyers, faces a major obstacle due to payments in currency other than the U.S. dollar, Reuters reported on Nov. 27, citing undisclosed sources. A lack of a viable alternative to the dollar remains a serious problem for Russia, affecting its oil trade with buyers in Africa, China, and Turkey, Reuters said.

2:26 PM

Police finish mandatory evacuation of children from Kupiansk district.

Mandatory evacuation of children from Kharkiv Oblast's Kupiansk district has finished after 296 children left the area constantly targeted by Russian attacks, the regional police said on Nov. 27.

2:16 PM

Czech president: Western military support for Ukraine insufficient for high-intensity operation.

The current Western defense deliveries to Ukraine were insufficient to maintain a high-intensity operation, Czech President Petr Pavel said when discussing Kyiv's counteroffensive in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera published on Nov. 27.

1:27 PM

Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast injure 2.

Russian forces struck Beryslav and Dudchany in Kherson Oblast on Nov. 28, wounding two residents, the regional administration reported.

1:02 PM

SBU arrests woman suspected of aiding Russian strikes on Odesa.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained a member of an alleged network set up by the Russian military intelligence agency, known as the GRU. The suspect, a local businesswoman, allegedly sent the GRU dozens of locations where she thought Ukrainian military units were based, according to the SBU.

11:42 AM

Russian strike on Kherson Oblast injures man.

A Russian strike on the village of Lvove in Kherson Oblast on Nov. 28 injured a 40-year-old man, said Volodymyr Litvinov, the head of the Beryslav District Military Administration.

11:29 AM

Russian attacks kill 1, injure 2 over past day.

Russian forces carried out attacks on 10 of Ukraine's oblasts over the past day, killing one person and injuring at least two people, local officials reported early on Nov. 28.

11:08 AM

Russian shelling of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills 1, injures 2.

A Russian artillery strike on Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the morning of Nov. 28 killed a 63-year-old man and injured two women aged 65 and 63, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

10:57 AM

Military intelligence: Budanov's wife poisoned.

Military intelligence spokesperson Andrii Yusov officially confirmed that Marianna Budanova was poisoned by heavy metals and is undergoing treatment in a comment for Radio Free Europe/Europe Liberty on Nov. 28.

10:48 AM

Reconstruction

‘We have to speed up:’ European Investment Bank head Hoyer calls for swift reconstruction of Ukraine

10:23 AM

Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia injures 1.

A Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia on the morning of Nov. 28 injured at least one person, Governor Yurii Malashko reported.

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ISW: Prigozhin’s claimed victory over remaining areas in Bakhmut purely symbolic, even if true

by The Kyiv Independent news desk May 21, 2023 6:15 AM 2 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

The last few urban blocks of eastern Bakhmut that Wagner Group has claimed to capture are not tactically or operationally significant, the Institute for the Study of War said in their latest assessment.

"Their capture does not grant Russian forces operationally significant terrain to continue conducting offensive operations or any particularly strong position from which to defend against possible Ukrainian counterattacks," the experts said.

Wagner Group's financier Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed full control over the embattled city of Bakhmut for the most recent time on May 20 in a voice message posted to Telegram. “Today, at noon, Bahmut was completely taken,” he claimed. “We completely took the whole city, from house to house.”

The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify Prigozhin’s claim or the footage provided by his press service.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine’s Presidential Office, said that Prigozhin’s claim that his mercenaries had captured Bakhmut was "an attempt to distract from the overwhelming support for Ukraine" received during President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visits abroad.

The ISW said that Wagner forces are" unlikely to establish adequate defenses" or consolidate recent gains in Bakhmut sufficient to forestall Ukrainian counterattacks by May 25: the date when Wagner forces would supposedly establish defensive positions before transferring responsibility for the city to Russian conventional forces, according to Prigozhin.

"Prigozhin’s withdrawal announcement, whether Wagner withdraws from the city or not, indicates that Prigozhin does not intend to continue an offensive effort to push directly west of Bakhmut," the ISW concluded.

Author: The Kyiv Independent news desk

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