November, 08-14

Last week, the liberation of almost the entire territory of the Mykolayiv oblast and the right-bank area of the Kharkiv oblast from Russian occupation, was a major development. The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city of Kherson, the only administrative center that was captured by the Russian army in February 2022. A curfew has been imposed in the city while stabilization activities, demining, and the search for the remnants of the Russian army are conducted. On 14 November President Zelenskyy visited Kherson and participated in the official ceremony of raising the Ukrainian flag. During the entire nine months of Russian occupation, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, never visited the city. 

While retreating from the right bank of the Dnipro, the Russian army blew up all of the bridges that cross the river, and which are located in the occupied territory. Russia also destroyed bridges crossing the Inhulets river and other strategic bridges to slow down the Ukrainian army’s advance. The bridge over the Kakhovka Dam was also damaged. If the dam itself had been destroyed, it could have led to catastrophic consequences. According to the Head of the Kherson Oblast Council, Oleksandr Samoylenko, Russian troops demolished at least four heating stations in Kherson while retreating. 

Following their withdrawal from the right bank of the Dnipro, Russian troops are now concentrating on the river’s left bank. They are building the line of defense along the Dnipro as well as relocating some military units to the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. As a result, pressure on the Ukrainian army in these directions is expected to increase, particularly near Bakhmut. At the same time, the Russian army’s efforts to advance, led to heavy casualties among their troops. According to the Ukrainian government, the Russian army has already lost 81.000 soldiers.

Last week the cities of Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Vinnytsia, Marhanets, Nikopol, Kramatorsk, Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Avdiivka, Kurakhove as well as other settlements in the Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv oblasts, which are located on the Russian border, were subjected to shelling. One of the most outrageous examples of shelling carried out by the Russian Federation (hereinafter: Russia) was a direct hit on a five-story residential building in Mykolayiv on the night of 11 November, while its residents were sleeping. 

According to statistics, Russia is running out of high-precision weapons. For example, in October only 15 Caliber missiles were used. Nevertheless, shelling conducted from reactive artillery and the S-300 missile system remains as intensive as ever. 

During Kherson’s occupation, surveillance cameras documented blatant human rights violations. For example, Russian troops set up torture chambers where inmates were electrocuted and killed, while women were raped. The city is suffering from a lack of water, medicines and food. However, the first humanitarian shipments are starting to arrive. The process of restoring Kherson’s energy network has also begun. Ukrainian TV is also beginning to broadcast, while Ukrainian law enforcement units have commenced their duties. 

Ukraine’s overall energy situation is dire. Since 10 October, Russia has launched over 900 missiles and drones on Ukraine. A significant number of energy infrastructure objects were hit.

 Russian troops continue to loot and steal property from shops and private homes. For example, in the occupied city of Kakhovka (Kherson oblast), equipment worth at least 36 million UAH has been stolen from the “Chumak” plant (the largest such plant for processing tomatoes in Central and Eastern Europe) by Russia. The Russian occupiers are also looting cultural property. Over 10,000 exhibits were stolen from the Oleksiy Shovkunenko Museum in Kherson.

As of November 14, 2022, over 1260 Ukrainian children were affected by Russia’s war.  430 children died with 830 wounded. Russia’s Armed Forces damaged 2719 educational institutions, 332 of which were completely destroyed.

 On 11 November, a further exchange of prisoners of war took place. 45 Ukrainian soldiers returned home. Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion, a total of 1138 Ukrainian soldiers have been freed from Russian captivity. On 8 November, the bodies of 38 Ukrainian soldiers were also returned to Ukraine. In addition, the Minister for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories, Iryna Vereshchuk, reported that 96 children who had been forcibly relocated by Russia, have returned home.

The Russian occupiers continue to forcibly relocate residents of the occupied territories. According to Ukrainian secret services, 262 children are considered missing, while the names of another 10,764 children are on the official list of those displaced. It has become known that Russia deported children from orphanages in the Kherson oblast, in particular, from the Oleshky orphanage. 

 Since rejoining the grain deal, Russia has delayed its implementation. 210 ships are queuing to leave Black Sea ports. Commenting on the “grain deal”, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure said that Russia is slowing down the passage of ships by subjecting them to long checks. Without Russian involvement, an average of 40 ships are normally checked during the same period of time (instead of 10 ships with Russia involvement in the process). 

The liberation of the right-bank area of the Kherson oblast and the Kinburn Spit in the Mykolayiv oblast, would help Ukraine lift the blockade on the Mykolayiv Sea Trade Port, thereby opening the way for the export of its agricultural products to the market. 

On 13 November, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine revoked accreditation for a number of journalists (including CNN and Sky News) working in the liberated territories in the Kherson oblast. In response, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, called on Ukraine’s Minister of Defense, Oleksii Reznikov, to reinstate their accreditation. The same appeal has been issued by Ukrainian journalists and media organizations. 

Russia will not grant humanitarian missions and UN cargo access to Ukraine’s temporarily occupied territories. The situation for people willing to enter the government-controlled areas remains difficult. According to the mayor of Melitopol, no more than 150 cars a day are granted passage from the occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia oblast. According to earlier messages, the Russians are constructing the “state border” in the city of Vasylivka. Russia has said that only those that have a “visa” can cross the border.

Ukraine has liberated Kherson and the right bank of the Dnipro. The withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson was reported in the Russian media without mentioning Putin. For example, in a live interview 9 November, the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson to the left bank of Dnipro. The Commander of the United Forces of the special military operation, Sergei Surovikin, said that the withdrawal Russian troops would be completed in the near future. On 14 November, Putin’s Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that Kherson is a Russian city. A few days earlier, on 11 November, Peskov said that he did not consider Russia’s retreat  from Kherson humiliating for Putin, asking journalists to refer their questions to the Russian Ministry of Defense. 

On 11 November, Putin met with academics, and held a conversation with Faustin Arkange Touadera, President of the Central African Republic, about expanding trade and economic cooperation.

The Russian retreat is portrayed in the country’s official media as a necessary step to save the lives of Russian soldiers. Putin has not commented on the liberation of the Mykolayiv and Kherson oblasts. On 14 November, he signed a decree on the “Approval of the Procedure for Coordination with Federal Public Authorities on the Exercise of Public Power in Zaporizhzhya Region and Kherson Region”

In official Russian narratives (Kremlin Propagandist Margarita Simonyan), parallels are drawn between the retreat from Kherson and Kutuzov abandoning Moscow in 1812 (to win the war), since it was the only way to save the army, and hence, Russia. “The decision taken by Surovikin” was backed by Kadyrov and Prigozhyn who emphasized the importance of saving soldiers’ lives. At the same time, the Kremlin’s official rhetoric is being slated by far-right groups. Some Russian bloggers refer to the retreat as a military defeat, criticizing Putin rather than the army. Far-right bloggers (Alexandr Dugin) have metaphorically accused Putin of the withdrawal, claiming that this development takes Russia “one step away from Armageddon”. According to these bloggers, the war needs to be transformed into an all-Russian cause since “a Russian city – which is not different to Belorod, Kursk, Donetsk or Simferopol – has been surrendered”. These same people claim that “if you don’t care, you’re not Russian”. The information space is awash with articles asserting that “a part of the Russian Federation has been deserted”. 

Russia continues to deploy the rhetoric of mobilization against a backdrop of repressions. Russian Senators have submitted amendments to a presidential bill, which was adopted in the first reading, on Russian citizenship. According to the amendments, those who voluntarily surrender to the enemy, evade conscription by faking disabilities or desert the army, may be stripped of Russian citizenship. The Federation Council is expected to back the President’s amendments on the deprivation of acquired citizenship for discrediting the Armed Forces of Russia and voicing calls to violate the territorial integrity of Russia. 

Russia continues to spread anti-Western and isolationist narratives regarding the need to follow Russian “traditional values”. Emphasis is placed on traditional and religious values. On 9 November, Putin signed a decree on spiritual heritage. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism are integral parts of Russia’s historical and spiritual heritage with Orthodoxy playing a special role in it (“On approving the foundation of the state policy on preserving and promoting Russian traditional spiritual and moral values”). On 12 November, the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia is fighting NATO and the West. The countries of the West are accused of implementing an unjust sanctions policy on Russia. 

Russia is spreading narratives about possible repressions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against residents of the Kherson oblast. Moscow claims that Kyiv may embark on filtration measures and kill “collaborators”. Russian officials said that “Western media have published footage of Ukrainian troops cleaning the region while “sneering at civilians tied to posts for “collaborating” with Russia”. Moscow denies being responsible for causing an environmental disaster in Kherson following the withdrawal of its troops of for the damage caused to civilian infrastructure. For example, Russia claims that its army had been preparing the city for winter by purchasing power generators. Messages are being spread, claiming that the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened over 2,000 cases regarding crimes committed by Ukraine against civilians since 2014. Russia continues to deny committing crimes in the Kherson oblast. The Kremlin says that Ukraine is preparing “numerous large-scale staged provocations about “torture” inflicted on Kherson’s residents by participants of the special military operation”. 

In terms of mobilization, Russia emphasizes the support provided for the conscripted, particularly those living in distant Russian regions. Putin has again instructed Russian governors to make compensation payments for the families of Russian soldiers.

Despite  Russia’s retreat from the right bank of the Kherson oblast, the Kremlin continues to inform Russian society of victories over the Ukrainian army, destruction of manpower and equipment. Narratives about the Armed Forces of Ukraine torturing Russian prisoners of war continue to be spread. 

The Russian internal discourse is full of messages about the importance of peace talks to “achieve goals of the special military operation through negotiations”. Ukraine is being accused of refusing to take part in talks. On 11 November, Dmitry Peskov said that Ukraine is reluctant to conduct negotiations, which is why Russia is continuing its special operation. Head of the Committee of the State Duma on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, believes that Ukraine shows no genuine intention to renew talks with Russia, despite Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s words about Ukraine’s readiness for peace. Russia also says that “the goals of the special operation” remain the same. According to Russian narratives, Ukraine’s demands that Russian troop withdraw from all of its territories are unacceptable.