Live blog: Artillery deliveries to Ukraine 'decreased' after Gaza war: Zelenskyy

Thursday, November 16, 2023

2112 GMT –– Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that deliveries of key artillery shells to his country had dropped off after Israeli war on Gaza erupted last month.

Israel, which receives US military support, has relentlessly pounded Gaza since Hamas fighters launched an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7.

"Our deliveries have decreased," Zelenskyy told reporters, referring specifically to 155-millimetre shells that are widely used on the eastern and southern frontlines in Ukraine, saying "they really slowed down".

"It's not like the US said: we don't give Ukraine any. No! It's just that everyone is fighting for (stockpiles) themselves," he told reporters.

"This is life. I'm not saying that this is positive, but this is life, and we have to defend what's ours."

Both Russia and Ukraine have struggled to maintain and secure stockpiles of shells after nearly two years of intensive long-range duels from batteries kilometres apart.

2126 GMT –– Ukraine's Zelenskyy says Biden-Xi meeting 'good for us'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy voiced optimism about a recent meeting between US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

"We understand that this fact is good for us -- their meeting," Zelenskyy told reporters in Kiev, after the US and Chinese leaders held talks in California where they agreed to restore military communications.

China has refused to condemn Russia's offensive of Ukraine and has deepened its economic, diplomatic and military cooperation with Moscow since the start of the war in February 2022.

The United States meanwhile has spearheaded the West's backing for Ukraine on the battlefield, providing multiple packages of financial and military support.

2120 GMT –– Russia 'accumulating' missiles for winter strikes: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that Russian forces were likely stockpiling missiles for strikes on his country's energy facilities over the coming winter months.

Zelenskyy has previously warned that Russia is likely to increase air strikes against Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of the winter, as it did this time last year.

"My estimation is that they are accumulating [missiles], but that they don't have many more missiles compared to what they previously had," Zelenskyy said, referring to attacks last year on critical infrastructure.

2021 GMT –– Russian shelling kills three in Ukraine's Kherson region

Multiple Russian shelling attacks in and around the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson killed three people and injured at least a dozen, the region's governor said.

Kherson was recaptured by Ukrainian forces last year, but has been shelled relentlessly since by Russian forces from the opposite bank of the Dnipro river.

Three people died in separate shelling attacks throughout the day, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

Morning strikes on the city killed a 68-year-old man, while an evening attack killed a 75-year-old woman in her apartment, he said in posts on social media.

Russian shelling on the town of Bilozerka, about eight kilometres (five miles) west of Kherson, killed one person and injured four others during the day.

The evening strike also injured eight people -- six of whom were hospitalised -- and caused partial power outages in the frontline city, Prokudin said in a post on social media.

1752 GMT –– Ukraine aid in limbo as US Congress beats shutdown deadline

The US Congress closed its doors for nearly two weeks without passing emergency aid for Israel and Ukraine, as lawmakers argued over unrelated immigration policy and faced pockets of resistance from Republicans on continued aid for Kiev's war against Russia.

The Senate adjourned well after midnight after passing a stopgap spending bill to avert a government shutdown. Supporters of the foreign military aid had hoped it would be included in the spending bill, known as a continuing resolution.

President Joe Biden asked Congress to approve the money last month. Its omission from the spending bill raised concerns that funding for Kiev might never be appropriated especially after the Republican-led House passed a bill this month including assistance for Israel, but not Ukraine. The Senate's Democratic leaders rejected that bill.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the Senate would work on Biden's request as soon it returns from next week's Thanksgiving holiday.

"I know both sides genuinely care about approving aid to Israel and Ukraine and helping innocent civilians in Gaza. So I hope we can come to an agreement even if neither side gets everything they insist on," he told a news conference.

1302 GMT –– Ukraine seizes initiative from Russia in the Black Sea: Zelenskyy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has seized the initiative from Russia in the Black Sea and forced Russia's naval fleet and warships to pull back, thanks to Kiev's use of naval drones.

"For the first time in the world, it was in the Black Sea that a fleet of naval drones began to operate - a Ukrainian fleet," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"We managed to seize the initiative from Russia in the Black Sea..." he said.

Over the course of the war Ukraine had shifted the balance of power, Zelenskyy said, and he thanked Türkiye, Bulgaria, Romania, and Moldova, which border the Black Sea, for their support.

1231 GMT –– Switzerland pledges support for special tribunal over Ukraine war

Switzerland said that it had pledged support for the establishment of a special tribunal to address the crime of aggression against Ukraine by Russia.

"Switzerland is firmly convinced that the aggression against Ukraine must not go unpunished," the Swiss department of foreign affairs said in a statement.

Over recent months, the initiative has garnered support from 38 countries, including France, Germany, Norway, Guatemala, Japan and Canada, according to the statement.

Switzerland officially joined the core group at a meeting in Berlin on Thursday, it added.

0915 GMT — Ukraine says it shot down 16 out of 18 Russian attack drones

The Ukrainian military shot down 16 out of 18 attack drones launched by Russia as well as one missile during overnight strikes, Kiev's air force has said.

Authorities also said civilian infrastructure in the eastern region of Kharkiv had been damaged by S-300 missiles, but that no deaths or injuries had been reported.

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0747 GMT — UK's David Cameron meets Zelenskyy in Kiev

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron has met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for talks on defence during an unannounced visit to Ukraine, the presidency said.

"Weapons for the frontline, strengthening air defence, protecting our people and critical infrastructure. I am grateful to the UK for its support," Zelenskyy said in a statement on social media, accompanied by images of him and Cameron shaking hands.

0723 GMT — Russia loads missile with nuclear-capable glide vehicle into launch silo

Russia's rocket forces loaded an intercontinental ballistic missile equipped with the nuclear-capable "Avangard" hypersonic glide vehicle into a launch silo in southern Russia, according to a defence ministry TV channel broadcast.

President Vladimir Putin announced the Avangard hypersonic glide vehicle in 2018, saying it was a response to United States development of a new generation of weapons and a US missile defence system that it could penetrate.

The Avangard glide vehicle detaches from the rocket as it approaches its target. It is able to manoeuvre sharply outside the trajectory of the rocket at hypersonic speeds of up to 27 times the speed of sound (about 21,000 miles per hour or 34,000 kilometres per hour).

0347 GMT — Ukrainian officials embezzled 20%-36% of all Western financial aid: Russian diplomat

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said that 20 percent and 36 percent of all financial aid provided to Kiev by the West allies has been misappropriated by Ukrainian officials, TASS news agency said.

"Based on our information, between 20 percent and 36 percent of all financial aid from the West was misappropriated by Ukrainian officials," the diplomat alleged.

"I’m talking about former senior officials of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry."

2220 GMT — Zelenskyy says Russia still capable of 'doing evil'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia is "still capable of doing evil," saying they must keep the country's defence as a top priority.

"Everyone in Ukraine must remember, especially those who have stopped noticing the war because they are fully focused on politics: Russia is still capable of doing evil," Zelenskyy said.

"No one will be able to turn a blind eye. We have to fight. We must keep our defence as a top priority. And we must make our state stronger every day," he added.

For our live updates from Wednesday (November 15), click here.