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Russo-Ukraine War - 18 November 2022 - Day 268

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A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While GlobalSecurity.org takes utmost care to accurately report this news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

On 24 February 2022, Ukraine was suddenly and deliberately attacked by land, naval and air forces of Russia, igniting the largest European war since the Great Patriotic War. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "special military operation" (SVO - spetsialnaya voennaya operatsiya) in Ukraine in response to the appeal of the leaders of the "Donbass republics" for help. That attack is a blatant violation of the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine. Putin stressed that Moscow's goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. The military buildup in preceeding months makes it obvious that the unprovoked and dastardly Russian attack was deliberately planned long in advance. During the intervening time, the Russian government had deliberately sought to deceive the world by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.

"To initiate a war of aggression... is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole." [Judgment of the International Military Tribunal]

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The UK Ministry of Defence reported that following the withdrawal of its forces from west of the Dnipro River, Russian forces continue to prioritise refitting, reorganisation and the preparation of defences across most sectors in Ukraine.

Units have constructed new trench systems near the border of Crimea, as well as near the Siversky-Donets River between Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. Some of these locations are up to 60km behind the current front line, suggesting that Russian planners are making preparations in case of further major Ukrainian breakthroughs.

It is likely that Russia will attempt to eventually redeployed some of the forces recovered from Kherson to reinforce and expand its offensive operations near the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that during the day, Russian forces launched 5 missile strikes and launched more than 10 MLRS attacks. The situation in the Volyn and Polissya directions has not changed significantly. The Republic of Belarus continues to support the armed aggression of the russian rederation against Ukraine.

Russian forces shelled in such other directions:

in the Slobozhansky direction - from tanks, mortars, barrel and rocket artillery, in the areas of Veterynarne, Hlyboke, Dvorichna, Ohirtseve, Osynovo, Starytsa, Khatnye and Fiholivka settlements of the Kharkiv oblast;
in the Kupyansk and Lyman directions - from artillery of various types, in the areas of Berestove, Kyslivka, Kotlyarivka, Krokhmalne, Pishchane and Tabaivka settlements of the Kharkiv oblast; Hrekivka, Makiivka, Nevske, Novoselivske, Ploshanka and Stelmakhivka in the Luhansk oblast and Kolodyazi and Torske in the Donetsk oblast;
in the Bakhmut direction - from mortars, barrel and jet artillery, in the areas of Andriivka, Bakhmut, Bakhmutske, Bilohorivka, Verkhnyokamianske, Klishchiivka, Kurdyumivka, Ozaryanivka, Opytne, Mayorsk, Rozdolivka, Soledar, Yakovlivka and Spirne settlements in Donetsk oblast;
in the Avdiivka direction - from the entire range of artillery, in the areas of Vodyane, Krasnohorivka, Maryinka, Novomykhailivka, New York and Pervomaiske settlements of the Donetsk oblast;
in the Novopavlivka direction - from artillery of various calibers, in the areas of Bohoyavlenka, Neskuchne, Vremivka, Vuhledar and Novopol in Donetsk oblast;
in the Zaporizhzhia direction - from mortars, barrel and rocket artillery, in the areas of the settlements of Hulyaipilske, Zaliznychne, Orihiv, Shcherbaki and Pavlivka of the Zaporizhzhia oblast and Prechystivka - Donetsk region;
in the Kryvyi Rih direction - from artillery, in the area of ​​the settlement Mylove, in the Kherson oblast.

In the Kherson direction, mortar and artillery shelling, in particular, was experienced by the districts of Antonivka, Bilozerka, Mykolaivka, Odradokamyanka and Chornobayivka settlements of the Kherson oblast.

Russian losses in the Kherson oblast over the previous days have been confirmed. Thus, in the city of Skadovsk, as a result of the destruction of the area where the Russian occupiers were concentrated, the loss of personnel amounted to about 50 people killed. And in the city of Chaplynka, the destruction of the ammunition warehouse is confirmed.

According to the available information, the movement of separate units of the Russian occupation forces from the Kherson direction was recorded in the city of Novoaidar in the Luhansk oblast.

In order to build up the engineering equipment of defensive lines in the Mykhailivka district, which is in the temporarily occupied territory of the Zaporizhzhia region, the occupiers plan to use the facilities of enterprises in Pryshyb, Zaporizhzhia region, for the production of protective structures.

During the day, the Ukrainian aviation carried out 4 strikes on areas where the Russian forces' personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated.

During the current day, units of missile forces and artillery of the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit 2 control points, 9 areas of concentration of manpower, weapons and military equipment, 2 ammunition warehouses and a railway bridge.

Statements of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The Russian Ministry of Defense in a daily briefing reported that on November 17, the Russian Armed Forces delivered a concentrated strike with long-range precision weapons, air, sea and land-based, at military command and control facilities, the military-industrial complex of Ukraine and the fuel and energy infrastructure. The goals of the strike were achieved, the production facilities for the manufacture of missile weapons were hit, the arsenal with artillery weapons supplied by the West was destroyed, the transfer of reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the delivery of foreign weapons to the combat areas were disrupted.

The village of Experienced near Donetsk was liberated. The Armed Forces of Ukraine unsuccessfully tried to counterattack in the areas of Sladkoye, Vladimirovka and Pavlovka (Donetsk People's Republic, DPR), the attacks were repelled. Enemy losses amounted to more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen killed and wounded, a tank, 3 infantry fighting vehicles, 2 armored personnel carriers and 7 vehicles were destroyed.

Attempts to attack the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kupyansky and Limansky directions are also reflected. About 90 Ukrainian fighters, 2 tanks, 2 infantry fighting vehicles and 7 armored vehicles were destroyed.

Aviation, missile troops and artillery hit the command posts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kharkiv and Zaporozhye regions, as well as 83 artillery units, manpower and military equipment in 172 districts. During the counter-battery fight in the Kharkiv region, the launcher of the Uragan multiple launch rocket system of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was destroyed.

Air defense systems shot down 2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) and the DPR. 10 shells of Uragan and HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) were intercepted in the Kharkiv region and the DPR.

The Russian Defense Ministry also commented on the video that appeared on the Web of the massacre of UAF militants over captured Russian soldiers. The department said that video evidence confirms the savage nature of the Kyiv regime and those who support it.

"The intentional and methodical killing of more than ten immobilized Russian servicemen by the UAF degenerates with direct shots in the head cannot be presented as a "tragic exception" against the background of the alleged general observance of the rights of prisoners of war by the Kyiv regime," the ministry said.

At the same time, the Defense Ministry added, the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who surrendered this week are being held in Russia in accordance with all the requirements of the Geneva Convention. Ultimately, the department added, the Ukrainian authorities and their henchmen will have to answer for every tortured and killed prisoner.

Kherson region

Throughout the day, Ukrainian troops shelled Novaya Kakhovka. The targets of the strikes were the homes of civilians and civilian infrastructure, local authorities said. In addition, the APU fired mortars at the city of Alyoshki, the shell hit the gathering point of evacuated citizens.

The Ukrainian company "Ukrzaliznytsia" resumes railway communication with Kherson. The first train from Kyiv will depart at 22:14 local time and will deliver about 200 passengers to Kherson on the morning of November 19.

A member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and a freelance adviser to the acting governor of the Kherson region, Alexander Malkevich, announced the continuation of the evacuation from a 15-kilometer zone near the Dnieper River. According to him, more than 120 thousand people have already been taken out.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, by his decree, awarded the crew members of the Ararat river boat, which helped evacuate the inhabitants of Kherson from the right to the left bank of the Dnieper, with the Order of Courage.

The International Committee of the Red Cross commented on the appeal of the commission of the Human Rights Council (HRC) of Russia regarding photographs from Kherson with people tied to poles. The organization recalled the inadmissibility of treatment that degrades human dignity.

Law enforcement officers stopped the sabotage of the "Right Sector" ✱ (banned in the Russian Federation) in the village of Dnepryany. Law enforcement officers found a cache with components for making an explosive device with submunitions, sawn-off shotgun, cartridges and knives. It was established that the cache belonged to a citizen of Ukraine, who is a member of the 12th separate company of the "Right Sector" ✱, his activities were supervised by employees of the SBU department in the Kherson region.

Zaporozhye region

Acting Governor of the Zaporozhye region Yevhen Balitsky said that more than 30% of the cultivated land in the region has yet to be cleared for the sake of the safe operation of people and agricultural equipment. According to him, farmers are already preparing for spring sowing.

LDNR

From the beginning of the day on November 18, Ukrainian formations opened fire on Donetsk, as well as the settlements of Yasinovataya, Gorlovka, Kashtanovoe, Mineralnoye. As a result of the shelling of Donetsk, there are victims, a school building, a hospital and a confectionery factory are damaged, residential buildings and civil infrastructure are damaged.

In the LPR, during the day, the settlement of Bryanka was shelled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result of the attack, a civilian was injured, a residential building and the building of the former sanitary and epidemiological station were destroyed, and 2 outbuildings were damaged.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the illegal activities of the OSCE mission in the Donbass. So, the department reported that the organization was primarily engaged in serving the interests of the Western curators of Kyiv, deliberately discrediting the militia of Donetsk and Luhansk and hiding the war crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, facts of systemic cooperation between the OSCE and foreign special services were revealed. The mission staff transmitted data from surveillance cameras to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to adjust the fire and identify the movements of equipment and positions of the personnel of the people's militia of the LPR and DPR.

Lieutenant Colonel of the People's Militia of the LPR Andrei Marochko said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have switched from offensive operations to defense in some sectors of the front line in the LPR. According to the officer, this indicates the exhaustion of some reserves and the physical fatigue of the enemy.

The head of the Human Rights Council of the Russian Federation, Valery Fadeev, said that he would send a video of the execution of Russian prisoners of war in the Donbass to international organizations and demand an investigation. DPR Ombudsman Daria Morozova sent appeals on this fact to the UN and the Red Cross. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said they were studying videos of murdered prisoners of war.