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Vladimir Putin is worried about assassination attempts, a senior political analyst said, after the Russian president decided not to travel to Bali for the G20 summit. Kremlin-backed Sergei Markov said: “The reasons why Putin is not going to the G20 are serious,” he said. “There is a high probability of an assassination attempt on Putin by the special services of the US, Britain and Ukraine.” It comes as Russian troops were ordered to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River near the strategic southern Ukrainian city in what could be a turning point in the war. The humiliating defeat for Russia coincides with an announcement by a top US general that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the Ukraine war. He said 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have also been killed or injured since Russia launched its invasion nine months ago. “There was enormous pain, human pain,” he said.
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Ukrainian troops recapture the first village of Kherson after Russia’s retreat
A small group of Ukrainian soldiers was shown on state television in the center of the village of Snihurovka about 55 km (35 miles) north of the city of Kherson, greeting dozens of residents in a square with a Ukrainian flag flying from a pole behind them. “Today, November 10, 2022, Snihurivka was liberated by the forces of the 131st separate intelligence battalion. Glory to Ukraine!” a commander stated as locals clapped, cheered and filmed the soldiers on their phones. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 10 November 2022 14:55 1668091264
Nord Stream operator granted permission to explore Danish waters
Nord Stream AG, the operator of the ruptured Nord Stream 1 natural gas pipeline, has been granted permission to explore an area in Danish waters, Denmark’s Geodata Agency told Reuters on Thursday. The carrier has already sent a chartered vessel into the waters off the coast of Sweden to inspect the damage to the pipeline, which carries gas from Russia to Germany via the Baltic Sea. Sweden and Denmark have concluded that four leaks in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines were caused by explosions, but have not said who might be responsible. World leaders have called it an act of sabotage. The application, sent to the Danish Geodetic Agency on October 13, was given the go-ahead on November 1, a spokesman for the agency said. It gives Nord Stream AG permission to explore the depths in Denmark’s exclusive economic zone. A spokesman for Nord Stream AG was not immediately available for comment. Initial data from the operator’s own surveys in Swedish waters found “man-made craters”, i.e. man-made, 3-5 meters deep. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 10 November 2022 14:41 1668089797
Power or profit: Why Iran is helping Russia wage war in Ukraine
Iranian weapons allegedly used by Russia against Ukraine are under fresh scrutiny after Kyiv revealed details of Western-sourced components of drones it had captured on the battlefield. Ukraine’s defense ministry says an Iranian-made Mohajer-6 drone used by Russian forces in the skies over Eastern Europe has been dated to suggest it was built in February, the month Moscow launched its attack, potentially contradicting Tehran’s claims that it had sold the weapons before the war began. Kyiv says the drones used parts made in the United States, Austria and Japan, while Canada has admitted the engines it sold to Iran could have been used for the drones. Our international correspondent Borzou Daragahi reports: Maryam Zakir-Hussain November 10, 2022 2:16 p.m 1668088837
Russia says troops begin withdrawing from key Ukrainian city – some context
Russia said its troops began withdrawing from a strategic Ukrainian city on Thursday, a retreat that would represent a humiliating defeat in the bitter war. Ukrainian officials acknowledged that Moscow’s forces had no choice but to flee, but stopped short of declaring victory in Kherson. It was hard to know what was happening in the industrial port city, from which tens of thousands have fled in recent weeks. Some Western observers, including the top US military officer, have said they believe Kremlin forces have been forced to withdraw – although a full withdrawal may take some time. Ukrainian officials have warned for weeks that any announcement of a Russian retreat should be met with skepticism. They have accused Moscow of planning to ambush Ukrainian troops and said Russian soldiers have donned civilian clothes in an attempt to blend in with the city’s population. But on Thursday, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valeriy Zaluzhny, said “the enemy had no choice but to flee” as Kiev’s army “has destroyed the logistics routes and the supply system, has disrupt the enemy’s system. military administration’ in the area. However, he said the Ukrainian military could not confirm or deny that Russian forces were indeed withdrawing from Kherson, as the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday. The ministry said there was a “maneuver of units of the Russian group” on the opposite side of the Dnieper River from where Kherson is located, a day after the withdrawal order. But another senior Ukrainian official offered another reason to be wary of any retreat: presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak claimed Russian forces had laid mines across Kherson, saying they wanted to turn it into a “city of death”. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 10 November 2022 14:00 1668087817
22% of land in Ukraine has been lost since 2014
In addition to human casualties, Ukraine has lost control of about 22 percent of its land to Russia since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, according to Reuters calculations. It has lost a stretch of coastline, its economy has been crippled and some cities have been turned into wastelands by Russian bombing. Ukraine’s economy will shrink by 45 percent in 2022, the World Bank and International Monetary Fund estimate. The actual dollar cost to Ukraine is unclear. It is unclear how much Ukraine has spent on the fighting. Maryam Zakir-Hussain November 10, 2022 1:43 p.m 1668086797
Russia under intense pressure in Ukraine, NATO chief says
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that Russia was under intense pressure in Ukraine after Moscow ordered its troops out of the southern city of Kherson. Speaking after meeting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Stoltenberg said NATO would monitor in the coming days to see if the Russians had indeed withdrawn from the west bank of the Dnipro River. “What is clear is that Russia is under a lot of pressure and if they leave Kherson, it will be another victory for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told reporters after talks with new Prime Minister Meloni. He added that NATO would support Ukraine “as long as necessary.” “The unprecedented support provided by NATO allies, including Italy, is making a difference on the battlefield every day and remains vital to Ukrainian progress,” he told reporters. Meloni, who took office last month, said her government remains committed to defending the “territorial integrity, sovereignty and freedom of Ukraine.” Maryam Zakir-Hussain 10 November 2022 13:26 1668085724
Russia says it will continue gas cooperation with Turkey, grain exports to G20
Russia will announce a series of initiatives related to gas cooperation with Turkey and grain exports at a gathering of leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) countries in Indonesia next week, the foreign ministry said on Thursday. “A number of concrete initiatives are being planned, including increasing gas cooperation with Turkey, (and) organizing large grain and fertilizer shipments,” it said in a statement. President Vladimir Putin, who will not attend the summit, has floated the idea of creating what he calls a “gas hub” in Turkey, through which shipments of Russian gas could be sold on the European market. The foreign ministry said it hoped the summit would help create a “multipolar” world, a term Putin often uses to criticize what he says is Western dominance of world affairs. Russia’s presence at the G20 summit has drawn criticism from Western countries and Ukraine, which have called for Putin to be banned from the summit. Russian and Indonesian officials said Thursday that Putin will not go in person but may join in person. Instead, the Russian delegation in Bali will have Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in front of him. Maryam Zakir-Hussain 10 November 2022 13:08 1668084637
The human cost of Putin’s war: 200,000 soldiers and 40,000 civilians killed in Ukraine
A total of 200,000 soldiers and 40,000 Ukrainian civilians have been killed in the nine months Russia has invaded Ukraine, a top US general has said. Speaking at The Economic Club in New York, he said: “There has been enormous pain, human pain.” It comes as Russia announced this week that it had begun a retreat from Kherson, where civilians were evacuated en masse earlier this month as the streets were prepared for battle. Maryam Zakir-Hussain November 10, 2022 12:50 p.m 1668083737
Ukrainian forces advance south, seize 12 settlements – army chief
Ukrainian forces have advanced seven kilometers (4.3 miles) in two directions in the south and captured 12 new settlements in the past 24 hours, Ukrainian army chief Valery Zaluzny said on Thursday. “We cannot yet confirm or deny the information about the so-called withdrawal of Russian occupation troops from Kherson. We continue to conduct the offensive operation according to our plan,” he wrote in a post on Telegram. Maryam Zakir-Hussain November 10, 2022 12:35 p.m 1668082837
