Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,349

On Tuesday, November 4, 2018, the situation is as follows:

Fighting

Russia announced on Monday that its troops had advanced in Pokrovsk, a crucial port and logistics hub in eastern Ukraine, but Ukraine claimed its forces were still occupying the city.
• Even though Russian troops had struggled the day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy assured reporters that Pokrovsk remained under heavy pressure.
• He added that Dobropillia, a town where Kyiv’s forces advanced earlier this year with a successful counteroffensive, was where Russia was en masse trooping. He described the difficulty of the situation in Dobropillia.
• According to the 7th Rapid Response Corps of Ukraine, a Russian attempt to cut off a northern supply route from Rodynske was foiled by Ukrainian forces.
• Russia claimed that its troops had also attacked Ukrainian forces in Kupiansk, a city in the east, and stormed four fortified positions along the left bank of the Oskol River. Up to 60 Russian soldiers were still in Kupiansk, according to Zellenskyy, and Ukrainian forces were attempting to evacuate them.
• A Ukrainian military airfield, a repair facility for military equipment, and supporting gas infrastructure facilities were the targets of heavy overnight strikes by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
• The Ukrainian military reported that a successful strike and a subsequent fire had been reported on one of the refineries in the Saratov region of Russia.
• In the Luhansk, Ukraine, area that is under Russian control, it was reported that it had also struck Russian military logistics.

Weapons

• This year, Zelenskyy announced that Kyiv will establish joint weapons production and export offices in Berlin and Copenhagen.

• Zelenskyy added that Ukraine intends to start mass production of its domestically developed missiles, the Flamingo and Ruta, by the end of this year.
• A Ukrainian delegation will travel to Washington, DC next week for further discussions of a US-Ukraine drone deal, which Kyiv hopes will strengthen ties with US President Donald Trump’s administration.

diplomacy and politics

According to the Reuters news agency, the European Commission (EC) stated in a draft text that Ukraine is showing “remarkable commitment” to joining the EU, but that it must reverse recent negative trends in the fight against corruption and accelerate rule-of-law reforms.
• According to the report, the EC added that Kyiv needed to advance more in respect of civil society, judicial independence, and organized crime.
• Russian President Xi Jinping and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin will visit China for a two-day visit, according to the Kremlin, which will include scheduled meetings.

Economy

• Zelenskyy claimed that Ukraine still needs $750 million to fund gas imports for the upcoming winter. After Russia’s sharp attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector in recent weeks, with an emphasis on gas facilities, the government wants to increase natural gas imports by about 30%.