Russia-Ukraine war updates for Nov. 17, 2022

After ASEAN and G-20 conferences, the attainable spillover of the war in Ukraine into Europe’s jap flank looms large over the two-day APEC summit.

The assembly of world leaders within the Thai capital of Bangkok could be the final probability in a current flurry of diplomatic efforts within the area to attempt to discover consensus to forge a path towards peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

“How do we help bring all the parties in the conflict here to the table and try to find a solution? We need to get to that point as soon as we can,” Kasemsit Pathosak, govt director of the APEC CEO Summit informed CNBC.

Attendees for the group’s first in-person summit in 4 years embody Chinese President Xi Jinping, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Major stakeholders like U.S. President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will not be there.

— Lee Ying Shan, Sri Jegarajah

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley met together with his Swedish counterpart on the Pentagon.

Milley mentioned the NATO accessions course of and regional safety issues with Swedish Supreme Commander Gen. Micael Bydén, in accordance o a Pentagon readout of the assembly.

In May, Sweden and Finland started the formal means of making use of to NATO. All 30 members of the alliance need to ratify the nations’ entry into the group. In August, U.S. President Joe Biden signed ratification documents following a 95-1 Senate vote to carry Finland and Sweden into NATO.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed The Hague’s determination to condemn two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist to life in jail for the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine.

“A very important decision was made today in the Netherlands. This is the first sentence for the murderers who destroyed the Malaysian Boeing in the sky over Donbas in 2014,” Zelenskyy mentioned throughout a nightly address on the Telegram messaging app.

“Without this, it is impossible to protect the world from the wars, such as Russian aggression against our state, from happening again,” the Ukrainian chief added.

— Amanda Macias

WNBA star Brittney Griner’s authorized workforce mentioned that it has met with the two-time Olympic gold medalist since her relocation to a Russian penal colony exterior of Moscow.

“We can confirm that Brittney began serving her sentence at IK-2 in Mordovia. We visited her early this week,” her attorneys wrote in a press release.

“Brittney is doing as well as could be expected and trying to stay strong as she adapts to a new environment. Considering that this is a very challenging period for her, there will be no further comments from us,” the assertion added.

Last month, a Russian courtroom upheld Griner’s nine-year prison sentence, a choice that solidified the U.S. athlete’s motion to a penal colony.

— Amanda Macias

The Army awarded a greater than $14 million manufacturing contract to Lockheed Martin to extend funding for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS.

“The delivery will increase production capacity to allow the U.S. government to more rapidly replenish DoD stocks provided in support of Ukrainian armed forces,” the Pentagon wrote in a launch.

Last month, the protection titan mentioned it was poised to spice up HIMARS manufacturing to 96 launchers yearly, up from its present stage of 60 launchers. Lockheed Martin CEO Jim Taiclet introduced the rise throughout a third-quarter earnings name. 

So far, the U.S. has transferred greater than 20 HIMARS to Ukraine because the system has confirmed to be efficient in countering Russian missile strikes.

— Amanda Macias

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin will try and freeze Ukrainians out of frustration with navy progress on the bottom.

“Having failed to seize Ukraine by force, President Putin seems to believe that plunging Ukrainians into darkness, cutting off their water, freezing them to death will break their will,” Blinken mentioned alongside U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai in Bali, Indonesia.

“Russia’s new strategy, like its old strategy, will fail. Ukrainian spirit is unbreakable, so is our commitment to supporting Ukraine,” Blinken added.

In current weeks, Russian missiles have rained down throughout Ukrainian cities, damaging an estimated 40% of the nation’s power infrastructure.

— Amanda Macias

Ukrainian Gen. Oleksii Gromov mentioned Russia fired about 150 missiles towards Ukraine in November.

He mentioned that greater than 100 missiles have been launched on Tuesday, in what’s being described as the most important missile strike of the war to this point, in response to an NBC News translation.

He added that on Thursday, Russian forces fired about 16 cruise missiles and carried out about 5 drone strikes over Ukraine.

— Amanda Macias

Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and reiterated “that Russia bears full responsibility and culpability for its war against Ukraine.”

“He reaffirmed the United States’ firm and unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and pledged continued economic, humanitarian, and security assistance for Ukraine to defend itself and provide for its people,” wrote State Department spokesman Ned Price in a readout of the decision.

The two leaders agreed to stay in shut contact because the investigation into the explosion in Poland unfolds. 

— Amanda Macias

The State Department mentioned that it has not been capable of communicate with WNBA star Brittney Griner since she was relocated to a penal colony.

Department attorneys “are aware of her location and are in frequent contact with Griner’s legal team,” mentioned deputy State Department spokesman Vedant Patel.

“Our embassy in our mission in Moscow has continued to press for more information about her transfer and her current location,” Patel added.

Last week, Griner was moved from a Russian jail to a penal colony. Last month, a Russian courtroom denied Griner’s attraction and upheld its nine-year jail sentence for drug smuggling charges.

— Amanda Macias

The group overseeing the export of Ukrainian crops mentioned there’s a backlog of 69 vessels ready to be loaded with cargo.

The U.N.-led Joint Coordination Center additionally mentioned that about 24 loaded vessels are ready for inspection in Turkish territorial waters.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered in July amongst Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, eased Russia’s naval blockade and noticed the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports. Since the deal was signed, greater than 470 ships carrying 11.1 million metric tons of grain and different meals merchandise have left for locations around the globe.

Kyiv has beforehand blamed Moscow for holding up inspections and delaying vessel actions.

— Amanda Macias

The group overseeing the export of agricultural merchandise mentioned three vessels carrying wheat, flour and soybeans left Ukrainian ports.

The quantity of grain and different foodstuffs exported beneath the Black Sea Grain Initiative to this point exceeds 11.1 million metric tons.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered in July amongst Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, eased Russia’s naval blockade and noticed three key Ukrainian ports reopen.

The deal between the signatories is ready to run out in about 4 months.

— Amanda Macias

A Dutch courtroom on Thursday convicted two Russians and a pro-Moscow Ukrainian separatist in absentia of the murders of 298 individuals who died within the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine and sentenced them to life imprisonment. One Russian was acquitted due to a scarcity of proof.

Presiding Judge Hendrik Steenhuis mentioned that proof introduced by prosecutors at a trial that lasted greater than two years proved that the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was introduced down by a Buk missile fired by pro-Moscow Ukrainian fighters on July 17, 2014. The crash scattered wreckage and our bodies over farmland and fields of sunflowers.

Against the geopolitical upheaval brought on by Russia’s full-blown invasion of Ukraine, the courtroom additionally held that Moscow had general management of the separatist Donetsk People’s Republic in jap Ukraine, from the place it mentioned the assault was launched.

None of the defendants appeared for the trial that started in March 2020 and if they’re convicted, it is unlikely they are going to serve any sentence anytime quickly. Prosecutors had sought life sentences for all 4. Prosecutors and the suspects have two weeks to file an attraction.

— Associated Press

Massive blackouts that briefly hit greater than a half-dozen cities throughout Moldova this week highlighted the influence Russia’s war in Ukraine is having on Europe’s poorest nation.

The energy outages occurred Tuesday because the Russian navy pounded infrastructure targets throughout Ukraine, which borders Moldova. Less than per week earlier, the European Union pledged 250 million euros (almost $260 million) to assist the previous Soviet republic deal with a extreme power disaster after Russia halved its pure fuel provide.

Moldova turned a candidate for EU membership in June, on the identical day neighboring Ukraine did.

“Every deadly bomb dropped on Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure has direct consequences for the people of our country,” Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu mentioned after Russia’s newest missile strikes induced the electrical energy to exit throughout the border.

— Associated Press

Ukraine’s air protection forces shot down six missiles over the southern area of Odesa area throughout one other missile assault on the nation Thursday.

“A missile attack was launched on Odesa region. The enemy launched Kalibr [missiles] from the Black Sea and used tactical aircraft, two Su-30 fired six air-based missiles,” Odesa City Council mentioned a Telegram post, including that six missiles had been destroyed by air protection forces over the ocean.

One missile struck a logistics facility, the council mentioned, with one civilian injured within the assault. “The blast wave damaged the buildings of the surrounding enterprises,” it mentioned.

— Holly Ellyatt

Here’s an replace on these reviews of shelling in a number of areas together with the cities of Kyiv and Dnipro on Thursday:

Kyiv’s military administration mentioned 4 Russian missiles and 5 Shahed drones had been shot down over town as we speak. The head of navy administration mentioned air protection forces had “shot down several enemy objects targeting our critical infrastructure” however mentioned “there are no hits in the region.”  

“However, we have hits in other regions of Ukraine, which also affects our energy system. The situation with electricity in the region remains difficult. According to the decision of Ukrenergo, emergency power outages continue in the Kyiv region.  The duration of shutdowns depends on the security situation and the speed of infrastructure restoration,” Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.

In the Zaporizhzhia area, rescue staff are additionally clearing particles following rocket assaults this morning that noticed a residential constructing hit within the metropolis of Vilniansk. The our bodies of 4 useless individuals have been faraway from the rubble, the emergency companies mentioned, and that there could also be others within the constructing. “Four families — at least 8 people — lived in the house,” the emergency companies said on Facebook.

In town of Dnipro in central Ukraine, 14 individuals, together with one baby, have been hospitalized after shelling this morning. One Twitter person posted a video exhibiting broken residential buildings, in response to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine.

Tymoshenko posted a video of broken buildings in Dnipro with air raid sirens sounding within the space. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video from Dnipro exhibiting a blast on a busy street within the metropolis. One of his advisors tweeted that Ukraine was experiencing a “missile sky” once more.

— Holly Ellyatt

Polish individuals have combined emotions about Tuesday’s missile strike that killed two residents in a village close to the border with Ukraine.

Some residents have mentioned they’re now extra involved about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; whereas others famous that Tuesday’s occasion was an unlucky accident that might have occurred earlier.

“Yes, I am more concerned now … we are very close to it,” a younger feminine Polish employee informed CNBC Thursday morning. “I just hope this [war] ends very soon,” she added.

A person working at a lodge subsequent to the Presidential Palace in Warsaw mentioned: “There is a constant fear since February 24 [when Russia started its invasion of Ukraine]. I do not want an escalation.”

The identical citizen is hoping there might be elevated safety throughout the Polish border. Germany reportedly introduced it is going to ship extra airspace surveillance to Poland.

Poland, a NATO member since 1999, has seen one of many largest navy built-ups among the many alliance’s members. Data launched by NATO again in July confirmed there are 122,500 Polish troops and 11,600 troops from different NATO allies stationed within the nation. The United States leads NATO’s battlegroup in Poland.

A 39-year-old Polish salesman informed CNBC he isn’t extra nervous now than he was in the beginning of the week, arguing “it’s war and these things happen.”

— Silvia Amaro

Ukraine has been hit by extra Russian shelling Thursday morning with missile assaults being reported within the Kyiv area, in addition to Odesa and Dnipro metropolis within the south.

The area surrounding Kyiv was coming beneath fireplace, the head of the regional military administryion Oleksiy Kuleba warned Thursday, as he famous that “since the very morning, the enemy has been massively attacking Ukraine.”

“Kyiv region – air defense works. The danger has not passed. We have information about the flight of rockets … over the region,” he mentioned.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Office of the President, mentioned Russian forces had shelled Dnipro this morning with a number of hits on two infrastructure services reported. One particular person was injured within the blasts, preliminary data mentioned.

Elsewhere, the top of Odesa RMA Maksym Marchenko, mentioned that Russia had launched a missile assault on an infrastructure facility within the southern port area.  “There is a threat of a massive missile attack on the entire territory of Ukraine.  I ask the residents of the region to stay in shelters,” he said.

Russia’s virtually relentless assaults on Ukraine’s power infrastructure are seen as a central a part of its war technique, aiming to deprive Ukrainians of water, warmth and energy as winter climate units in.

— Holly Ellyatt

The United Nations Secretary General mentioned on Thursday he welcomed an settlement by all events to increase the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate Ukraine’s agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports.

— Reuters

The head of the Ukrainian President’s Office, Andriy Yermak, mentioned Thursday that Ukraine is trying to “crush” Russia and is withstanding “extremely difficult blows from the enemy.”

“The enemy thinks that he will weaken our defense with strikes on energy and will be able to hit us in the back. This is a naive tactic of cowardly losers that we are ready for,” Yermak mentioned in a press release on Telegram.

“Ukraine has already withstood extremely difficult blows from the enemy, which did not have the results that these Russian cowards were counting on. We continue to move forward,” Yermak mentioned. “They won’t succeed. We will crush them,” he added.

Ukraine skilled a large assault on its power infrastructure on Tuesday with Kyiv claiming that Russia focused it with round 100 cruise missiles, damaging power infrastructure in a number of areas.

Ukraine’s nationwide power firm, and Energy Minister German Galushchenko, known as the Russian assault on Ukraine’s power system probably the most huge assault within the nation’s historical past, and for the reason that war began.

The U.Ok.’s Ministry of Defence mentioned Thursday that Russia’s relentless assaults on Ukraine’s power sector, which has left thousands and thousands with out energy, are “drawing deeply upon Russia’s reserves of conventional cruise missiles” with the degrading of Ukraine’s nationwide infrastructure changing into a key component of Russia’s strategic strategy to the marketing campaign.

It mentioned Tuesday’s strikes have been “likely the largest number of strikes that Russia has conducted in a single day since the first week of the invasion.”

“Ukraine is facing a significant decrease in the power available from its national grid. This will impact upon civilian access to communications, heating and water supplies.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he had “no doubt” that Ukraine was to not blame for a missile strike that hit a Polish village on Tuesday night, killing two individuals.

Zelenskyy mentioned on Ukrainian TV Wednesday that his prime navy commanders had assured him that “it was not our missile and not our missile strike” that was the reason for the incident, which provoked a global furor and fears {that a} wider battle between NATO and Russia may erupt.

“I have no doubt in [Tuesday’s] report to me personally — from the Commander of the Air Force to Commander-in-Chief [Valery] Zaluzhny — that it was not our missile and not our missile strike,” Zelenskyy mentioned.

He reiterated calls from Kyiv to supply it with entry the positioning of the explosion, close to the village of Przewodow in southeastern Poland and simply 4 miles from the Ukrainian border, and for Ukraine to be a part of a joint investigation being led by Poland and the U.S.

“I believe that we have the right to this. Is it possible not to announce the final conclusions until the investigation is completed? I think it is fair. If someone says that this is our rocket, should we be in a joint investigative group? I think we should, it is only fair.”

NATO’s initial assessment of the incident, which Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg briefed the press on Wednesday, essentially exonerated Ukraine, discovering that whereas it appeared {that a} Ukrainian air protection missile had induced the blast in Poland, the incident had occurred whereas Ukraine was defending itself towards a barrage of Russian cruise missiles.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyi mentioned that 63 our bodies of tortured residents have been recovered within the lately liberated Kherson area. 

“The bodies of those who were tortured there are being exhumed. So far, 63 bodies have been discovered in the entire territory of Kherson region, but we must understand that the search has only begun,” he mentioned, according to an NBC translation.

Russia has beforehand mentioned that its forces haven’t dedicated war crimes in Ukraine, which would come with the torture and killing of civilians.

— Amanda Macias

The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations blamed Russia for the loss of life of two residents inside Poland’s territory.

“While we still don’t know all of the facts, we do know one thing: This tragedy would never have happened but for Russia’s needless invasion of Ukraine and its recent missile assaults against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure,” Linda Thomas Greenfield mentioned earlier than the U.N. Security Council.

“The UN charter is clear – Ukraine has every right to defend itself against this barrage. Defend its sovereignty. Defend its territorial integrity,” she added.

Thomas Greenfield mentioned that Russia on Tuesday carried out “the widest scale missile attack since the beginning of the war.”

“Now, millions of Ukrainians are without heat or electricity. We extend our solidarity with the Ukrainian people for the fallout of this attack, and our deepest condolences for those lives lost,” Thomas Greenfield mentioned, including that this was a “deliberate tactic by Putin.”

“He seems to have decided that if he can’t seize Ukraine by force, he will try to freeze the country into submission. It is hard to overstate how horrific these attacks are,” she mentioned.

— Amanda Macias

The Pentagon slammed Russia’s deliberate bombing of Ukraine’s civilian power sector, including that greater than 1 / 4 of Ukrainians are with out energy all through the nation.

“While assessments are ongoing yesterday’s strikes looked like they launched at least 60 missiles and they may have launched upwards of 90 or even perhaps 100,” U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley informed reporters throughout a press convention alongside Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

“It was likely the largest wave of missiles that we’ve seen since the beginning of the war,” Milley mentioned, including that “the deliberate targeting of the civilian power grid, causing excessive collateral damage and unnecessary suffering on the civilian population is a war crime.”

— Amanda Macias

Ukraine requested to see the proof upon which NATO primarily based its evaluation {that a} missile strike on Poland that killed two individuals was seemingly brought on by Ukraine’s air defenses attempting to defend itself towards a barrage of Russian missile assaults.

NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted, nonetheless, that the strike was not a deliberate assault and that Ukraine was to not blame.

“Let me be clear, this is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine,” Stoltenberg mentioned at a press briefing.

After NATO’s feedback, Oleksii Danilov, the top of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted that Kyiv favored a “joint study” into the incident, and wished to see the proof held by its allies that prompt it was concerned.

Danilov mentioned on Twitter that Ukraine was “ready to hand over the evidence of the Russian trail that we have” however Kyiv was nonetheless awaiting “information from our partners, on the basis of which a conclusion was made that it is a Ukrainian air defense missile.”

He added that Ukraine had requested that protection ministry and border guard officers are granted fast entry to the positioning of the explosion.

— Holly Ellyatt

NATO mentioned there was no indication that the missile strike that hit a Polish border village on Tuesday evening was deliberate, saying that Russia was finally in charge because it continues to bombard Ukraine with missiles.

The navy alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg mentioned the missile incident occurred “as Russia launched a massive wave of rocket attacks across Ukraine.”

While the investigation was ongoing into the indicent, he mentioned “there was no indication this was the result of a deliberate attack” and no indication it was a results of “offensive military actions against NATO.”

Preliminary evaluation, as beforehand reported, means that the incident was brought on by a Ukrainian air protection missile fired to intercept a Russian missile.

“Let me be clear, this is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears the ultimate responsibility as it continues its war against Ukraine,” he mentioned.