US Embassy in Ukraine | Reuters It will take 10-15 years to replenish depleted Western stockpiles of artillery ammunition to support Ukraine’s military as it fights an invasion by Russia, according to the owner of major arms maker Czechoslovakia Group. Despite the flow of ammunition to Ukraine, CSG owner Michal Strnad said Ukrainian forces were facing shortages as Western governments depleted their arsenals amid capacity constraints. Strnand told Reuters his company was now responsible for about 25-30% of European 155mm artillery production. “Artillery ammunition is a very scarce commodity today,” he said in an interview. “I estimate that it will take 10-15 years to replenish the stocks (of the Western armies)” as a result of the war in Ukraine. European governments have made significant use of their arsenals to support Ukraine, which Strnand said was firing 40,000 shells a week from several hundred Western-supplied shells against the Russian invaders. “Really a lot has been delivered to Ukraine,” he said. “But the fact is that today the Ukrainians are shooting less than they could because they don’t have enough ammunition.” — Reuters
Widespread Russian missile attacks leave at least two dead and others injured in Zaporizhzhia
A view shows a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile attack, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 9, 2022. Stringer | Reuters At least two people were killed and two others injured, including a 1-year-old child, in the Zaporizhia region after Russian missile attacks nationwide, Ukrainian President Kirill Tymoshenko’s deputy chief of staff said. Several private houses were destroyed and there are probably more injured, Tymoshenko said in a Telegram post. He noted that emergency services are already working at the scene. The head of Kyiv’s regional military command, Oleksii Kuleba, urged residents to stay in shelters as Ukrainian air defenses began operating in the area. “There is an increased risk of rockets moving towards the area,” Kouleba posted on Telegram. The northeastern region of Sumy is also without power due to an emergency shutdown of the energy system following the attacks on the left, according to the region’s local energy company, NE Ukraine. The Odessa region was cut off from water supply due to the strikes, the local water company said. The spate of widespread missile strikes is part of Russia’s efforts to cut off Ukraine from vital energy resources by targeting vital infrastructure across Ukraine, leaving many Ukrainians in dire and uncertain conditions for the winter. Rocio Smith
Russia now controls 18% of Ukraine, according to the British ministry
Ukrainian soldiers on the front line in Donbass, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on November 22, 2022. Diego Herrera Carcedo | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Ukraine has released around 54% of the maximum amount of additional territory seized by Russia since the start of its invasion on February 24 this year, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. In a tweet, the ministry said Russia now controls about 18 percent of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territories, “including the Donbass and Crimea regions that have been under Russian control since 2014.” Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and has supported a pro-Russian insurgency in two regions in Donbas in eastern Ukraine, home to two self-proclaimed autonomous “republics” of Luhansk and Donetsk. Since the start of the war, Russia has been pushed out of many areas by Ukrainian forces, mainly around Kharkiv in the country’s northeast. Russian forces have also withdrawn from areas around Kyiv, the capital, and Kherson in the south. Donetsk in eastern Ukraine is now the scene of some of the heaviest fighting in Ukraine as Russian forces attempt to advance and capture the city of Bakhmut, with the hope of moving on to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in a bid to consolidate their foothold in region. — Holly Elliott
Russia launched new wave of missile attacks, Ukrainian air force spokesman says
A fighter from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic inspects the remains of a rocket that fell on a road in the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, Ukraine on February 26, 2022. Alexander Ermochenko Reuters Russia launched another wave of missile attacks against Ukraine on Monday, Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ikhnat said at a news conference amid air raid alerts in Kyiv and across the country. “This is not an exercise,” Ikhnat told reporters. “The missiles have already been launched.” The attacks used strategic aviation launched from three separate locations: the Volgodonsk region in western Russia, the Caspian Sea and from ships in the Black Sea, according to Ihnat. The latest missile launches are a continuation of Russia’s attacks on critical Ukrainian infrastructure that began in early October, he said. To date, Russian strikes have knocked out about half of Ukraine’s energy systems, leaving many Ukrainians without electricity as temperatures drop. Ilhnat warned that Monday’s launch could lead to several waves of strikes, warning Ukrainians to take shelter. “The Russians are doing this to disrupt and confuse our air defense forces,” he said of the launch waves. Several top Ukrainian officials have called for additional air defense capabilities, including fighter jets and advanced anti-missile systems, in recent weeks as Russia steps up its missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. Rocio Smith
The Kremlin has no further information on explosions at the air base
Saint Basil’s Cathedral and a Kremlin tower are visible on Red Square in Moscow. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images The Kremlin told reporters it had no further information on what caused explosions at two separate air bases in Russia on Monday. Explosions occurred at military airports in Russia’s Saratov and Ryazan regions earlier today. Russian state media reported that a fuel tanker exploded at an air base, killing three people and injuring several others. At the other airport, Ukrainian media reported that a possible drone attack had destroyed two Tu-95 strategic bombers. Asked whether President Putin had been briefed and what might be behind the incidents, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not comment further. “I don’t have accurate information. I’ve only seen the media reports, but I don’t have accurate information and I can’t comment on it,” he told reporters. “Of course, the president regularly receives information about everything that is happening from all relevant agencies,” he added. — Holly Elliott
The Russian bombing of Donetsk caused damage to kindergartens, houses
Ongoing Russian shelling of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, considered the epicenter of fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, has damaged a kindergarten, residential buildings and an administrative facility, a regional official said. The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Command, Pavlo Kirilenko, said on Telegram on Monday that the city of Kurakhove and the village of Gostre came under fire with “a kindergarten, 4 high-rise buildings and 7 private houses… destroyed.” Kyrylenko posted images of damaged buildings along with the information. He said Avdiivka was attacked overnight, as well as the center of Bakhmut, a town that has become a key target for Russian forces seeking to advance on Donetsk. There, an administrative building, a residential building and farm buildings were damaged, Kirilenko said. A Ukrainian soldier is seen in the trenches on the front line of Bakhmut in Donetsk, Ukraine on December 4, 2022. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Towards Lysychansk in Luhansk, the region bordering Donetsk, Kyrylenko said “many” shells hit the villages of Torsky and Zarichny. CNBC was unable to verify the information in the report. — Holly Elliott
Russia says it is preparing retaliation against the West’s oil price cap
The Kremlin says it is preparing retaliation after Ukraine’s western allies imposed a ceiling on the price of Russian-sourced offshore oil at $60. “Decisions are being prepared, but, of course, one thing is clear here – we will not recognize any upper limit,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday. Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. Mikhail Svetlov | News Getty Images | Getty Images Last week, Ukraine’s G-7 allies Australia and the EU (known as the “Price-Ceiling Coalition” in this case) agreed to a $60 cap on Russian offshore oil in a bid to curb revenues of Moscow from the oil exports that help finance its ongoing war. The price cap, which began on Monday, means third countries will only be able to access services such as insurance, shipping and brokerage from countries in the coalition (ie the EU and the G-7) if they trade Russian oil at or below the lid. The UK, US and EU will not make use of the cap as they have already imposed a ban on Russian oil imports. On Monday, Peskov did not specify what form “retaliatory” measures might take. Russia has already criticized the price cap, saying it will continue to find buyers for its oil and will not supply oil to countries that adhere to the price cap. — Holly Elliott
Explosions were reported at Russian airbases, damaging two bombers
Explosions have been reported at two Russian military air bases in Russia, with bomber aircraft reportedly damaged in one of the incidents. Earlier Monday morning, Russia’s Tass news agency reported that an explosion occurred Monday morning at an airbase near the city of Ryazan southeast of Moscow, killing three people and injuring…
