Russia-Ukraine conflict updates for November 7, 2023.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed extending the present export ban on Ukrainian pure gasoline for the entire of 2024, in response to a presidential decree, translated through Google.

Ukraine initially launched the export ban quickly after the invasion in February 2022, and it was then prolonged to cowl 2023.

The decree included a proposal for the “establishment in 2024 of a zero export quota for gas of natural Ukrainian origin” in a listing of measures to be taken throughout the subsequent six months.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine closely impacted world gasoline provide chains, sending gasoline costs skyrocketing within the preliminary weeks of the conflict.

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

Ukraine has managed to totally restore 421 well being services broken by Russian forces, the Ukrainian well being ministry stated in a press release, in response to a Google translation.

Russia has broken a complete of 1,468 medical facilities in Ukraine since its full-scale invasion in February 2022, whereas 193 have been completely destroyed, the ministry stated.

The well being ministry stated it “is working on the reconstruction of Ukrainian hospitals and creating conditions so that [Ukraine’s] heroic doctors, despite the war, can fully work and provide the necessary medical care to every patient.”

— Hannah Ward-Glenton

NATO allies on Tuesday condemned a call by Russia to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, which was a key post-Cold War treaty, including that, as a consequence, they meant to droop the operation of the treaty so long as vital

“Allies condemn Russia’s decision to withdraw from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), and its war of aggression against Ukraine which is contrary to the Treaty’s objectives. Russia’s withdrawal is the latest in a series of actions that systematically undermines Euro-Atlantic security,” stated NATO in a press release.

“Therefore, as a consequence, Allied States Parties intend to suspend the operation of the CFE Treaty for as long as necessary, in accordance with their rights under international law. This is a decision fully supported by all NATO Allies.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia had formally withdrawn from this landmark safety treaty which restricted key classes of typical armed forces, blaming the United States for undermining post-Cold War safety with the enlargement of the NATO army alliance.

— Reuterfs

A big convoy of Russia gear is shifting by means of the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian metropolis of Mariupol towards Berdiansk, and is believed to be en path to the strategic Russian-occupied stronghold of Tokmak, in response to Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the usurped Ukrainian mayor of Mariupol.

“Military movement Melitopol – Mariupol. Convoys of equipment, helicopters near Berdiansk, dozens of trucks with ammunition [moving] through Mariupol,” he stated on Telegram Tuesday, including that the column was “disappearing” towards the entrance line.

Andriushchenko stated it is believed that Russia is trying to ship reinforcements to the foremost rail and street hub Tokmak, an occupied metropolis whose protection is seen as a precedence for Russia because it seems to be to keep up its grip on a swathe of southern Ukrainian territory, together with key cities Melitopol and Mariupol.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin can pay an official go to to Kazakhstan on Thursday, the Kremlin stated Tuesday.

Putin will maintain talks with Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the leaders will focus on “key issues of the further development of Russian-Kazakh relations of strategic partnership and alliance, prospects for interaction within the framework of integration associations in the Eurasian space, as well as current regional and international problems,” the Kremlin said, according to comments published by TASS news agency.

“As a result of the visit, a number of important joint documents are expected to be signed. The presidents will also make statements for the media,” the Kremlin said. 

Putin’s visit comes as the West and China try to woo oil and mineral-rich Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and and Uzbekistan, prompting anger in Moscow that sees the region as its traditional sphere of influence.

Read more here: Russia fumes at the West’s charm offensive in its backyard, saying it’s ‘luring’ its friends away

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian state company Rostelecom confirmed on Tuesday that a fibre optic cable under the Baltic Sea had been damaged last month and said it was now being repaired.

The company did not respond to emailed questions from Reuters asking what caused the outage and whether it could be linked to other incidents last month that damaged a gas pipeline linking Finland and Estonia and two other telecoms cables connecting Estonia to Finland and Sweden.

In a statement, it said the damage was first recorded on Oct. 7 but that it had not affected communications between Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad and the rest of the country.

— Reuters

Ukraine’s “functionality to hit” shipbuilding infrastructure in Russian-occupied Crimea will likely prompt Russia to consider relocating such infrastructure further away, delaying the delivery of new vessels, the U.K.’s Ministry of Defense said Tuesday.

Ukrainian and Russian sources both reported on Nov. 4 that a newly built Russian naval corvette was almost certainly damaged after being struck while alongside at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch in occupied Crimea.

“The KARAKURST-class Askold, launched in 2021, had not been commissioned into the Russian Navy. The incident is farther to the east in Crimea than most earlier Ukrainian-claimed long-range strikes,” the ministry said in an intelligence update on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Ukraine’s functionality to hit Crimean shipbuilding infrastructure will probably trigger Russia to contemplate relocating farther from the entrance line, delaying the supply of latest vessels,” the U.K. said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly decided to run in the March 2024 presidential election and he’s likely to win another six-year term in office, essentially because there’s no one that can oppose him.

The Kremlin continues to refuse to confirm that Putin, 71, is set to run when the vote is held in March next year but six unnamed sources close to the Kremlin told Reuters that Putin is ready to run again.

With little to no political opposition in Russia — given that prominent Putin critics have fled the country or been systematically jailed by the Russian authorities — it’s likely that Putin will be in office until at least 2030, and could continue his tenure until 2036.

Analysts say that the bitter truth in modern Russia is that there is no one who can oppose Putin, for now.

Read more here: Putin looks set to run for president in 2024 — and there’s no one who can oppose him right now

It’s “irresponsible” to talk of holding elections during wartime, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday, saying discussions around holding a vote in March 2024 were inappropriate when Ukraine is focused on fighting Russia’s invasion.

“We all perceive that now, in wartime, when there are such a lot of challenges, it’s completely irresponsible to throw the subject of elections into society in a lighthearted and playful manner,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address.

“We should understand that now could be the time of protection, the time of the battle that determines the destiny of the state and folks, not the time of manipulations,” he added.

There has been some talk around whether Ukraine, which is operating under martial law, should hold a presidential vote next spring. On the one hand, Kyiv wants to demonstrate its commitment to democratic processes as it looks to join the EU, but there are also concerns that a political distraction is the last thing Ukraine needs right now as its fight against Russia hangs in the balance, with little overall progress in retaking territory, and largely attritional warfare.

“I imagine that now isn’t the best time for elections. And if we have to put an finish to a political dispute and proceed to work in unity, there are constructions within the state which are able to placing an finish to it and giving society all the required solutions. So that there isn’t a room left for conflicts and another person’s recreation in opposition to Ukraine.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Commander in chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzhny, confirmed Monday that his assistant, Hennadiy Chastyakov, was killed on his birthday when an unknown explosive device went off in one of the gifts.

“Today, beneath tragic circumstances, on his birthday, my assistant and shut pal, Major Hennadiy Chastyakov, died within the household circle,” Zaluzhny wrote on Telegram,

“An unknown explosive machine went off in one of many presents. Hennadiy is survived by his spouse and 4 kids. My deepest condolences to the household,” he added.

Zaluzhny called Chastyakov’s death an “unspeakable ache and heavy loss for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and for me personally.”

Investigations are now taking place into the circumstances surrounding Chastyakov’s death, he said.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Tuesday that it has destroyed multiple drones over Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula it has occupied since 2014.

“On the morning of November 7, an try by the Kyiv regime to hold out a terrorist assault utilizing seventeen aircraft-type UAVs on objects on the territory of the Russian Federation was stopped,” the ministry said on Telegram. A UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle, or drone.

“Duty air protection methods destroyed 9 Ukrainian unmanned aerial autos and intercepted eight over the Black Sea and the territory of the Republic of Crimea,” it added.

Ukraine has not publicly commented on the alleged attack and CNBC was unable to immediately verify the information.

The war between Russia and Ukraine has been typified by the use of drone warfare. Drones continue to be vital weapons for both sides, used as both explosive devices and for surveillance and reconnaissance.

— Holly Ellyatt

The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet announced his decision to run in the 2024 election.

Citing six unnamed sources, Reuters reported earlier that Putin had decided to run in in March vote next year.

Asked to comment on the report, Kremlin Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency that “Putin has not but made any statements on this matter. And the marketing campaign itself has not but been formally introduced.

There is little actual political plurality in Russia and even supposed “opposition” events typically help Putin’s authorities. Peskov himself beforehand stated in September that “if we assume that the president stands as a candidate, then it is obvious that there can be no real competition for the president at this current stage.”

The Russian presidential elections are scheduled to happen on March 17, 2024. TASS reported that the Federation Council, or Senate (the higher home of Russia’s parliament, or Federal Assembly) will make an official resolution on the date of elections in December, after which political events should maintain their pre-election congresses and formally nominate candidates. 

Changes to Russia’s structure in 2021 means Putin, age 71, can run for one more two phrases in workplace, doubtlessly remaining in workplace till 2036.

Ukraine’s 128th separate Transcarpathian Mountain Assault Brigade confirmed Monday that 19 of its troopers died in a Russian strike on an awards ceremony final Friday.

“The missile attack by an insidious enemy took the lives of 19 fighters of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade,” it stated on Facebook.

“Now a thorough check of all the circumstances of the tragedy is being conducted, until it is completed we call you not to spread unverified, often fake information.”

“Our best fighters have died… We express our sincere condolences to their relatives and promise to pay back 100 times more for our brothers,” the put up concluded.

The deaths have stoked public anger on condition that Russia attacked the brigade throughout an awards ceremony, a fair that was seen as a straightforward goal.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took the bizarre step of addressing the incident and losses in his nightly tackle on Sunday, admitting that the “tragedy could have been avoided.”

Vladimir Putin has determined to run within the March presidential election, a transfer that may preserve him in energy till least 2030, because the Kremlin chief feels he should steer Russia by means of probably the most perilous interval in many years, six sources informed Reuters.

Putin, who was handed the presidency by Boris Yeltsin on the final day of 1999, has already served as president for longer than some other Russian ruler since Josef Stalin, beating even Leonid Brezhnev’s 18-year tenure. Putin turned 71 on Oct. 7.

The sources, who spoke to Reuters on situation of anonymity because of the sensitivity of Kremlin politics, stated that information of Putin’s resolution had trickled down and that advisers had been now making ready for the marketing campaign and a Putin election.

For Putin, who opinion polls present enjoys approval rankings of 80% inside Russia, the election is a formality if he runs: with the help of the state, the state media and virtually no mainstream public dissent, he’s sure to win.

“The decision has been made – he will run,” stated one of many sources who has information of planning. A choreographed trace is because of come inside a number of weeks, one other supply stated, confirming a Kommersant newspaper report final month.

Another supply, additionally acquainted with the Kremlin’s considering, confirmed {that a} resolution had been made and that Putin’s advisers had been making ready for Putin’s participation. Three different sources stated the choice had been made: Putin will run.

“The world we look out upon is very dangerous,” stated one of many sources.

— Reuters

Eyewitness accounts from deployed Russian troops in Ukraine counsel that the troopers’ battle in opposition to the weather stays a significant preoccupation for Russia’s military, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday.

In an intelligence replace on X, previously referred to as Twitter, the ministry stated Russian troopers who just lately returned from Ukraine who had been talking on the Ogakov Readings army affairs convention in Moscow on Nov. 1 described being “wet from head to toe” for weeks on finish on the entrance line.

“One soldier highlighted that the risk of fire alerting Ukrainian forces meant that they ‘couldn’t even boil a mug of tea.’ They highlighted living and eating ‘monotonous’ food in pervasive mud,” the U.Ok. famous.

Maintaining an honest stage of private consolation and sound administration in defensive positions is difficult for any military, the ministry famous, “however, open-source evidence suggests a generally very poor level on enforcement of basic field administration amongst Russian forces.”

“This is likely partially caused by a deficit in motivated junior commanders as well as variable logistical support.”

— Holly Ellyatt