Day 260 (10 November)
Putin has announced he would not attend the G20 summit in Indonesia next week.
Ukrainian troops continue to liberate towns as they advance on Kherson city.
The Russians state that they are not retreating but are redeploying their troops and Kherson city is still Russian.
The UK announced a further delivery of 1000 surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine.
The US will not provide Gray Eagle MQ-IC drones to Ukraine as they believe it may lead to escalation (it’s already happened), and have concerns that the technology could be stolen while it is used in battle (for example if a Russian got hold of the remnants of the drone). Ukraine and members of the US Congress had been requesting the use of the drones, but it has been denied
The US did announce another military aid package which includes four US Avenger air defence systems with Stinger missiles, and air defence systems for Hawk missiles.
It has been announced that George W. Bush and Zelenskyy will hold a public conversation next week.
Day 261 (11 November)
The main news is that the Russians completed their retreat of Kherson and were seen leaving by walking over the Antonivskiy bridge. Explosions were heard, and the cause has not been determined but the bridge is damaged.
There are celebrations as Kherson has been liberated and the Ukrainian flag returns to the city. Residents rejoice and thank the soldiers, but one needs to be cautious as the Russians may still be in Kherson as spies. The Russians destroyed most of the infrastructure and the energy grids, and when towns and cities are liberated, armies usually find mass graves and evidence of war crimes. That has already happened with bodies found in a cellar with evidence of torture. Kherson was one of the first regions to fall due to pro-Kremlin proxies who handed the city over to the Russians, and had been occupied for eight months.
This is good news for Ukraine, but Russia continues to target the country with missiles. It seems the aim is to make the civilians suffer as much as possible, and on Russian state television, some were boasting that it will be cold soon and that the Ukrainians will suffer as they had destroyed the energy grids.
The region will be heavily mined and booby-trapped without a doubt, and so the task of reclaiming Kherson will be hard, while holding a defensive line and then finding a way to root out any of the proxies and conspirators, or Russian soldiers who stayed behind either to spy, or to escape Russia.
The successful liberation means that Ukraine can control the Kakhovka dam which their intelligence suggested had been rigged to explode to cause damage. Perhaps the Russians left before they could be carry out the plan and have decided to try elsewhere?
The Ukrainian secret service have uncovered a plot by a Russian citizen who was living in western Ukraine, and was preparing a coup under Putin’s orders.
The SBU have so far uncovered 700 collaborators, including some from recently liberated areas in Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Kherson. Many will have fled with the Russians already, while some may remain undetected.
Hungary continues to block €18 billion of aid that Ukraine is waiting for by trying to blackmail the EU. Such behaviour from a member who doesn’t like being told to abide by the rules should not be tolerated. As I have said before, I have reservations about the integrity of the current Hungarian government. They only care about what’s in it for them.
Wheel Kherson is liberated, the government urges people not to return as it will take time to rebuild and repair the damage caused. The danger is not over until Russia is defeated and has left Ukraine for good. When the Ukrainian soldiers arrived, the Russian troops had already left by lunchtime today.
Missile strikes continue in Mykolaiv, killing at least seven people. It has apparently been liberated as the last occupied city in the region. The Ukrainians state they have regained control, but it is one thing to have control and then to maintain it.
The Russian puppet governor of Kherson had been killed in a car crash earlier this week and a funeral was held for Krill Stremousov. No further details of the car crash have been made available, but the Defence Ministry of Ukraine advises people to wear seatbelts.
David Smith, a former security guard for the British Embassy in Germany has pleaded guilty to being a spy for Russia. He was in contact with officials in Moscow and handed over names and data of British civil servants and provided details of the layout of the embassy. He is charged with eight counts of breaching the Official Secrets Act from May 2020 until he was detained in August 2021. It is said he betrayed his country as he hated the country and the use of the rainbow flag that was used to indicate support of the LGBT community. Sentencing will be held at a later date with a possible prison sentence of 14 years.
Russia appears to be now relying on using missiles launched from the Black Sea to target civilian infrastructure by withdrawing the troops and to regroup. Don’t forget that new conscripts are in Belarus being trained.
The US continue to put pressure on Ukraine to discuss a peace deal, but we know Putin cannot be trusted, and the countries who state they are in for the long haul need to live up to their words
.
Slava Ukraini!!!!
While Ukrainians celebrate the retreat of Russians from Kherson after eight months of being occupied, it will take months to repair the damage caused to the infrastructure. It's not surprising to hear that Putin will not be attending the "20" Summit; there's no doubt he will not relish being confronted over Russian atrocities in Ukraine.