Saturday, November 16

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Empty chairs with the names of missing journalists and cultural figures stand on Sophia Square on November 15, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Culture and media figures were honored in Kyiv during the human rights action ‘Empty Chairs.’ Activists want to support journalists, cultural figures, writers and human rights defenders who have been missing or imprisoned because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. (Yevhenii Zavhorodnii / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

War will ‘end faster’ under Trump administration, Zelensky says. The war “will end faster” under the policies of Donald Trump’s administration, set to take office in January 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a Nov. 15 interview with Suspilne.

Ukrainian military fighting in Russia to receive additional financial rewards. The update applies primarily to those currently involved in combat in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

Scholz’s call with Putin risks opening a ‘Pandora’s Box,’ Zelensky warns. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s call with Russian President Vladimir Putin opens a “Pandora’s box,” potentially leading to “other conversations and other calls,” President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in his evening address on Nov. 15.

4 Ukrainian children return home from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast. In a statement released on Nov. 15, governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the children who returned home from Russian-occupied parts of Kherson Oblast include four boys, aged between 1.7 and 17. According to the Ukrainian government’s database, Russia has illegally abducted over 19,500 children since February 2022.

Your contribution helps keep the Kyiv Independent going. Become a member today.

Russian troops plant flag at border in Chernihiv Oblast, Border Guard says no major offensive detected. State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that a Russian sabotage group planted a Russian flag near the border in Ukraine’s Chernihiv Oblast, but said that the event occurred in the grey zone and Russian troops did not launch a major offensive in the region.

SBU arrests Ukrainian officer allegedly working as a Russian mole in special forces. According to the report, the officer, the commander of a unit in Special Operations Forces, had been transmitting critical military intelligence to Russian troops.

Drone attack reported in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Russia’s Krasnodar region came under a “massive drone attack” overnight on Nov. 15, Governor Veniamin Kondratiev reported via his Telegram channel. One of the targeted districts hosts a military airfield.

Ukraine’s foreign budget support surpasses $100 billion since start of full-scale war. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has received over $100 billion in foreign-backed external financing to support Ukraine’s state budget, the country’s finance ministry announced on Nov. 15.

Read our exclusives

What Putin hopes to achieve in Ukraine before Trump enters the White House

Trump has repeatedly pledged to end the war within “24 hours,” sparking fears he might push Ukraine toward painful territorial concessions to achieve a quick peace deal that could be favorable to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Photo: Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Scholz calls Putin, discusses war in Ukraine; Drone attack reported in Krasnodar region

Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke by phone on Nov. 15, their first direct call in nearly two years, according to a German government statement. The call lasted about an hour, Reuters reported.

Photo: Kay Nietfeld/picture alliance via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 1, injure 19 over past day. Russian strikes across Ukraine killed at least one civilian and injured at least 19 others in the past day, regional authorities reported on Nov. 15.

What do Trump’s team picks mean for Ukraine-Russia war?

International response

Japanese foreign minister arrives in Kyiv. Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya arrived in Kyiv for an unannounced visit overnight on Nov. 16 in a show of Tokyo’s support for the besieged country.

Democratic senators urge investigation into Musk’s calls with Russia, Reuters reports. In a letter seen by Reuters on Nov. 15, two senior Democratic senators argued that Musk’s involvement in SpaceX programs should be reviewed for potential debarment and exclusion due to his communications with Russian officials.

Putin, Scholz to hold first direct phone call in two years, Bloomberg reports. Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz are set to hold their first direct phone call in nearly two years on Nov. 15, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

US presence in Poland is ‘guarantee of security,’ Duda says at opening of new missile base. The U.S. has opened a new air defense base in northern Poland, underscoring a guarantee of security on NATO’s eastern flank, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Nov. 13.

Trump says Russia-Ukraine war ‘gotta stop.’ U.S. President-elect Donald Trump at a Mar-a-Lago event in Florida on Nov. 14 that his administration will focus on the Russia-Ukraine war.

Scholz condemns war, urges Russia to negotiate with Ukraine in first call with Putin in nearly 2 years. During the conversation, Scholz condemned Russia’s war against Ukraine, calling on Putin to end it and withdraw Russian troops from Ukrainian territory. He also urged Russia to negotiate with Ukraine to achieve a “just and lasting peace.”

EU has ‘convincing’ evidence of reported Chinese attack drone production for Russia, media reports. “We have had reports from intelligence sources on the existence of a factory inside China producing drones which are shipped to Russia,” a senior EU official told Politico on Nov. 15.

In other news

At least 3 Russian oil refineries on verge of closure, Reuters reports. At least three Russian oil refineries have been forced to halt or scale back production due to significant losses and now face the risk of closure, Reuters reported on Nov. 15, citing five undisclosed sources.

Tbilisi court rejects 11 lawsuits challenging Georgian election results. A Tbilisi court has dismissed all 11 lawsuits filed by Georgian opposition parties and civil society organizations seeking to invalidate protocols issued by district election commissions, News Georgia reported on Nov. 14.

Protesters storm parliament in Georgia’s Russian-occupied Abkhazia over controversial investment deal with Russia. Protests against a controversial investment agreement with Russia escalated into clashes in Sukhum, the capital of Russian-occupied Abkhazia. The proposed law seeks to permit Russians to purchase property in Abkhazia.

This newsletter is open for sponsorship. Boost your brand’s visibility by reaching thousands of engaged subscribers. Contact partnerships@kyivindependent.com for more details.

Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Dinara Khalilova, Martina Sapio, Teah Pelechaty, Kateryna Hodunova, Olena Goncharova, and Dmytro Basmat.

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, consider joining our membership program. Start supporting independent journalism today.