Russian forces advance in Ukraine at the fastest rate since the invasion, according to Reuters. Russia launches a record number of drones across Ukraine overnight. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly passes a resolution to advance Ukraine’s path to NATO membership.
Russian forces advance in Ukraine at fastest rate since invasion, according to Reuters
Russian forces are advancing in Ukraine at the fastest rate since the early days of the 2022 invasion, taking an area half the size of London over the past month, analysts and war bloggers said on Tuesday.
The war is entering what some Russian and Western officials say could be its most dangerous phase, with Russia reported to be using North Korean troops in Ukraine and Kyiv now using Western-supplied missiles to strike back inside Russia.
The Russian army captured almost 235 sq km (91 sq miles) in Ukraine over the past week, a weekly record for 2024, Russian news group Agentstvo said in a report, according to Reuters. Russian forces had taken 600 sq km (232 sq miles) in November, it added, citing data from DeepState, which studies combat footage and provides front line maps.
Russia’s advance accelerated significantly since July.
Russia controls 18% of Ukraine including all of Crimea, just over 80% of Donbas and more than 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in the south, as well just under 3% of the eastern Kharkiv region, according to open source maps.
Neither side publishes accurate data on their own losses though Western intelligence estimates casualties to number hundreds of thousands killed or injured.
The thrust of the advance has been in Donetsk region, with Russian forces pushing towards the town of Pokrovsk and into the town of Kurakhove. Russian war bloggers say that if Russia can pierce the Ukrainian defences around Kurakhove, they will be able to push westwards towards the city of Zaporizhzhia while securing their rear to allow a swing towards Pokrovsk.
Geolocated footage published on November 25 indicates that elements of Russian formations have advanced up to Pobiedy Street in central Kurakhove, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report Monday.
The Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions account for the biggest number of battles being fought across the frontlines, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in an update Monday. It also reported fierce fighting near Kurakhove, but did not elaborate on whether the city fell to the Russians. Some of the most intense battles were fought in the directions of Kupyansk, Vremivka, and Lyman, the General Staff added.
Russian forces are also currently threatening Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) supplying the Ukrainian defense in Velyka Novosilka and are coming closer to enveloping the settlement, ISW said.
Russia launches record number of drones across Ukraine overnight
Russia launched 188 drones at Ukraine overnight on Tuesday, marking the highest number ever deployed in a single attack. Ukraine’s air defenses shot down 76 drones. Ninety-five more disappeared off radar after likely being disabled by electronic warfare systems, and five more drones flew into Belarus. Russia also sent into Ukraine four Iskander-M ballistic missiles from Voronezh and Kursk regions, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
The attack drones and other unidentified types of drones were launched from the area of Russia’s Oryol, Bryansk, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk.
The intercepts took place over the regions of Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsya, Zaporizhzhia, and Zhytomyr, Ukraine’s Air Force said.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, some of the drones hit targets, damaging critical infrastructure, private homes and apartment buildings across the country. No casualties were immediately reported.
NATO Parliamentary Assembly passes resolution to advance Ukraine’s path to alliance membership
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly wrapped up its annual session, taking place in Montreal Monday with a resounding message of support for Ukraine. The Assembly passed a series of resolutions with policy recommendations for NATO governments, asking them, among other things, to help Ukraine achieve full membership as soon as possible by accelerating its integration into NATO.
“The Assembly urges member governments and parliaments of the North Atlantic Alliance to step up political and practical efforts to help Ukraine receive an invitation and become the 33rd member of NATO as soon as possible,” the resolution reads.
The Assembly reminds of the need to “sustain and increase military, financial, and humanitarian support for Ukraine, ensuring the timely delivery of munitions and advanced weapon systems.”
The document also calls to strengthen the sanctions framework against the Russian Federation and the DPRK (the abbreviation for North Korea’s formal name) in order to increase the price for their cooperation in the aggression against Ukraine, and provide Ukraine with all the means, including medium-range missiles, to defend itself and deter further aggression.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly emphasized the need to use political and economic leverages to deter China from supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.