According to an “ISW” analysis, the “SilovikI” faction is about more than just the war. Kyiv now names a condition for peace talks with Russia You can find all the latest voices and developments on the Ukraine war in the ticker.
More on the course of the war in Ukraine.
Tuesday, November 8, 06:47: According to an analysis by “ISW”, leading figures in Russia’s pro-war faction, the “Siloviki”, are working behind the backs of Russian officials to increase their influence in Russia and the occupied territories of the expand Ukraine.
As an example, the “ISW” cites the establishment of an official office in Russia by Wagner financier Prigozhin, the establishment of the “Wagner Line”, a line of defense in Belgorod, and the constant criticism of the governor of St. Petersburg. According to military experts, Prigozhin is trying to improve his business relations in Russia. According to the “ISW”, Prigozhin regularly appears as one of the candidates for a possible successor to Putin in the Kremlin – which shows how successful his attempts to build his influence in Russia are, even if a presidential candidacy is considered rather unlikely.
It is similar with Putin’s bloodhound, the Chechen leader Kadyrov. He is also trying to make financial profit from the invasion and to establish business relationships in the occupied territories.
9:51 p.m .: In view of the violent Russian attacks on his country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has praised the international community’s willingness to help. “The current escalation of Russian missile and drone terror has only resulted in the world (…) responding with new aid for Ukraine,” Zelenskyj said in his video speech on Tuesday night. A few hours earlier, Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov had reported on the receipt of new US and Italian-made anti-aircraft systems.
Most recently, Russian missile and drone attacks had destroyed significant parts of Ukraine’s electricity and water infrastructure. Since then, several million Ukrainians only have electricity for a few hours every day. Against this background, Germany also delivered the Iris-T air defense system in October.
Zelenskyj also reported successes in pushing back Russian troops in the occupied areas in southern and eastern Ukraine. According to him, hundreds of Russians die every day in the Donetsk region in particular. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow, on the other hand, denies such high losses in its own ranks.
8:45 p.m .: The Russian priest Mikhail Vasilyev is said to have been killed in a Ukrainian rocket attack in Ukraine. This is reported by several Russian media and the Vasilyev diocese.
He died on Sunday morning “in the exercise of his priestly duties in the field of special military operations in Ukraine,” writes Vasilyev’s Moscow diocese. According to the 76th Airborne Division, the priest was hit in the head by shrapnel from a Himars missile and killed. Where this happened is not reported.
Vasilyev, who was on the EU’s action list, recently caused a stir with confused statements on Russian TV. He called on women to “be fruitful and multiply. When a woman has more than one child, it doesn’t hurt her so much when one is drafted for the war,” said the priest, who, according to independent media, advised the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church on issues of cooperation with the Russian army .
5:41 p.m .: According to Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Russia. But there is a condition for this.
“Ukraine has never refused to negotiate,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our negotiating position is known and open.” First, Russia should withdraw its troops from Ukraine. But then there is a crucial question: “Is Putin ready? Obviously not.”
Podoljak’s consequence: “That’s why we are constructive in our assessment: We will talk to the next head of state.”
2:29 p.m .: Russian businessman and Kremlin confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted “interference” in US elections. “We got involved, we are doing it and we will continue to do it,” Prigozhin was quoted as saying on Monday in the online network of his company Concord. The statement came a day before the midterm congressional elections in the United States, which have accused Moscow of interfering in elections for years and have therefore imposed sanctions on Prigozhin.
Prigozhin said the interference was done “with care, precision, surgically, in a way that suits us.” The businessman, also known as “Putin’s cook”, is accused of having manipulated elections in several western countries with his “troll factory”.
11:40 a.m .: The Starlink satellite internet service has shut down around 1,300 Ukrainian army terminals, according to a report by CNN. The reason for this are problems with the financing of the terminals of Tesla founder Elon Musk. A senior Pentagon official confirmed to CNN that negotiations are currently underway with Musk as to who and how will pay: “Negotiations are in full swing. Everyone in our building knows we’re going to pay them.” However, Starlink has already turned off satellites.
The first failures on the Ukrainian front already occurred on October 24, reports “CNN”. The terminals that were switched off are 1,300 devices that were purchased by a British company in March and have been used for military operations since then.
Monday, November 7, 9:17 a.m.: According to British intelligence experts, Russia cannot make up for the loss of aircraft in the war of aggression in Ukraine. “Russian aircraft losses may well exceed their ability to produce new machines,” said the British Defense Ministry’s daily update on the Ukraine war on Monday. The long time it takes to train competent pilots also reduces Moscow’s ability to regenerate its air force capabilities.
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian forces have already lost 278 aircraft since the invasion began – twice as many as in Afghanistan, according to the British. “We cannot verify these numbers, but the continued lack of Russian air superiority is likely compounded by poor training, the loss of experienced crews, and increased risks from close air support in tightly meshed anti-aircraft zones,” the statement said. That will probably not change in the coming months.
3:18 p.m .: According to the “Institute for the Study of War” (ISW), shelling by its own soldiers is responsible for up to 60 percent of Russian losses since mid-May. That’s what the commander of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk, Aleksandr Khodakovsky, said yesterday.
The ISW does not rule out that the numbers are exaggerated – but analyzes that the mere fact that something like this is being discussed publicly already reveals deeper problems within the Russian military. Poor communication and coordination are cited as examples.
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