As we enter the 637th day of the war, these are the most important developments.

Here is the situation as of Wednesday, November 22, 2023.

Battle

• Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said Russia had reduced ground attacks and airstrikes on the eastern town of Avdiivka but had not given up “its plans to encircle” the city. Ukrainian forces repelled eight attacks on Tuesday, he said. The military said there had also been an increase in Russian attacks on nearby Maryinka. The Russian Defense Ministry’s latest update mentioned that its troops were attacking villages south of Avdiivka, but provided few details.
• The Russian Defense Ministry said its marines would “stop all attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to conduct amphibious landings on the Dnipro Islands and left.” [eastern] Banks of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region. Pro-Russian bloggers said Russian forces harassed Ukrainian forces near the village of Krynky on the eastern bank upriver from the city of Kherson. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Kiev had suffered “colossal losses.”
• At least two people were killed after Russia fired a new barrage of missiles and drones at a hospital in the town of Selydove in the eastern Donetsk region and a nearby mine. The Air Force said it destroyed nine of 10 drones and one cruise missile launched by Russia. Moscow also targeted Ukraine with four guided missiles.
• Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said no decision had yet been made on the posts of two senior military commanders – Joint Forces Commander Serhiy Nayev and Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, head of the Tavria military command – after local media reported that they could be fired. The Tavria Command led Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the southeast, but was unable to achieve a significant breakthrough given the heavily defended Russian lines.

• Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper said Russia attacked port infrastructure in the Black Sea city of Odessa but no one was injured. The southern military command said Russia used Х-31 missiles and also attacked the Belhorod-Dniester district in the region, hitting administrative buildings.
• The United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine says more than 10,000 civilians have been killed since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country last year. Since confirmation work is still ongoing, the actual number is likely to be “significantly higher“, it added.

Politics and diplomacy

• Ukraine marked the 10th anniversary of the pro-European Maidan protests that ultimately led to the overthrow of the Kremlin-backed president Viktor Yanukovych. In a statement, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the protests were the “first victory” in Ukraine’s fight against Russia. It is “a victory against indifference. A victory of courage. The victory of the revolution of dignity,” he said.
• European Council President Charles Michel traveled to Kiev in a gesture of support for Ukraine, which he said had made “remarkable” progress in recent years. At a news conference, Zelensky said he hoped the European Union would agree to open formal accession negotiations at a summit next month. Michel said the discussion would likely be “difficult” but he would do “everything in my power to convince my colleagues that we need a decision in December.” The decision requires the approval of all 27 member states.
• Russian Foreign Ministry Special Envoy Rodion Miroshnik said Russia cannot coexist with the current government in Kiev. “The current regime (in Kiev) is absolutely toxic, we currently see no options for coexistence with it,” Miroshnik told reporters in Moscow.
• Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said it has opened a criminal case into the misuse of more than $1 million in government funds by a military unit in the northern Chernihiv region. The ministry found that the cost of generators was inflated and that they were left in warehouses instead of being delivered to where they were needed.

• Ukrainian authorities have announced investigations against two lawmakers on suspicion of involvement in bribery attempts for senior reconstruction officials. Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) said it caught one of the lawmakers, a member of parliament’s anti-corruption committee, allegedly offering the country’s first documented bribe in Bitcoin. The other lawmaker is suspected of arranging the handover of $150,000 cash packed in a Chinese jewelry box in the parking lot of a Kyiv supermarket. NABU did not name those responsible.

weapons

• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius announced that Germany would support Ukraine with 1.3 billion euros ($1.42 billion) in new military aid, including four additional IRIS-T air defense units to protect against Russian missile attacks. The package will also include 155mm artillery shells and anti-tank mines, Pistorius told reporters on a trip to Kiev. Berlin is the second largest supplier of military aid to Kiev after the USA.