Weekly roundup. Ukraine resists Russia’s invasion. Days 642-646

Throughout the week, Ukraine has experienced power shortfalls caused by a steep rise in consumption due to cold weather and winter storms. On the frontlines, the fighting continues. Russian forces make advances around Avdiyivka, in Donetsk region, the Institute for the Study of War said. Russia continues to launch missile and drone attacks beyond the frontlines. NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg has warned the allies that Ukraine could face heavy fighting and more Russian missile strikes. Late in the week, President Zelenskyi visited frontline troops in the Kupyansk direction.

The resistance movement in Ukraine’s occupied territory contributes to thwarting the enemy as Ukrainian troops are fighting on the frontlines. Five senior Russian officials were killed in a Ukrainian strike in Kherson region this week. A strike on Russian troops’ headquarters in occupied Tokmak, in Zaporizhzhia region, killed 14, including officers. In Russia’s far east, Ukraine’s Security Service detonated explosives on a rail line between Russia and China, unofficial reports said. 

The West could do a lot more to frustrate Mr Putin, The Economist says. For the first time since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24th 2022, he looks as if he could win, The Economist said in an article published on November 30. The West could do a lot more to frustrate Mr Putin. However, fatalism, complacency and a shocking lack of strategic vision are getting in the way, especially in Europe.Neither army is in a position to drive out the other from the land they currently control. Ukraine’s counter-offensive has stalled. Russia is losing over 900 men a day in the battle to take Avdiivka, a city in the Donbas region. This is a defenders’ war, and it could last many years, the article reads. Read the full text here.