Ukraine marks the Day of Dignity and Freedom. Russia has built up a stock of cruise missiles for winter strikes against Ukraine, UK defence intelligence says. Russian missile strikes on the town of Selydove and the Novohrodivska community in Donetsk region kill two and injure eight.
Ukraine marks Day of Dignity and Freedom
On November 21, Ukraine marks 10 years since the start of Euromaidan, or the Revolution of Dignity. In his address to the nation on the Day of Dignity and Freedom, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi called for unity as the only way to become strong and free.
“We are strong. We have to be strong. Because people believe in the strong only, and only the strong create the future. Only the strong can be united, united to become free, free to be worthy, for the sake of new times. When central squares of our cities will get new names that will not be ever changed,” he said.
“In honor of the heroes, in honor of the liberators, in honor of Mariupol, Berdyansk, and Melitopol, in honor of liberation of Donbas and Crimea, in honor of reunification of Ukraine within its borders. When in history books, years and centuries from now, Ukraine’s independence will be referred to as uninterrupted since 1991,” Zelenskyi said.
Since the Revolution of Dignity, all efforts are made to make sure that the “star of Ukraine” “shines in the circle of stars on the EU flag,” the President added.
More and more Ukrainians stand up whenever there are attempts to take away what’s dear to them, he said. “[When] the barricades of Maidan turn into the trenches of Donbas, and then into resistance along the entire frontline – in the north, south, and east.”
European Council President Charles Michel arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday in a gesture of support as Ukraine marks 10 years since the start of Euromaidan.
“Good to be back in Kyiv – among friends,” Michel wrote on social media platform X. Earlier on Tuesday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Moldovan President Maia Sandu arrived in the Ukrainian capital for unannounced visits.
Russia has built up stock of cruise missiles for winter strikes against Ukraine, UK defence intelligence says
Russia has likely built up a substantial stock of air launched cruise missiles ahead of a winter campaign of strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, UK Defence Intelligence said in its latest update on Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Between the 18-19 November 2023 Russia launched around 50 Iranian-designed Shahed one way-attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, primarily towards Kyiv. These were launched in waves on two axes – from the Kursk to the east, and from Krasnodar to the south-east, British defence intelligence said.
One of Russia’s objectives was likely to degrade Ukraine’s air defences, to shape the battlespace ahead of any concerted winter campaign of strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Russia has now refrained from launching its premier air launched cruise missiles from its heavy bomber fleet for nearly two months, likely allowing it to build up a substantial stock of these weapons.
Russia is highly likely to use these missiles if it repeats last year’s effort to destroy Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure, the update reads.
Russian missile strike kills two, injures eight in Donetsk region
Two people were killed and eight others injured in Russian missile strikes on the town of Selydove and the Novohrodivska community in Donetsk region late in the evening on November 20.
According to the Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office, Russia likely struck Selydove with S-300 missiles. Russian forces “targeted the city hospital where people were being treated. As a result of the attack, eight citizens sustained concussions and shrapnel wounds, and one was killed,” the statement reads.
A Russian missile strike also hit a coal mine in the Novohrodivska community. A 63-year-old worker was killed in the attack.