Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 636

On Tuesday, November 21, 2023, the following is the situation.

Fighting

• Ukraine claimed that fighting grew more intense near Bakhmut, an eastern town that was under Russian occupation. The nearby village of Klishchiivka, which Ukrainian forces retook in September, was the target of Russian attacks, according to Volodymyr Fityo, a spokesperson for Ukrainian ground forces. In the previous 24 hours, he claimed, eleven attacks have been repulsed. “Our soldiers are being moved from their defensive positions near Klishchiivka by the enemy.” In the previous week, more than 30 Ukrainian attacks in and around Bakhmut were repelled, according to Russia’s defense ministry.
• According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian shelling in the central Dnipropetrovsk and southern Kherson regions resulted in three fatalities and one injury. Additionally harmed were a few gas pipelines and power lines.
• A grenade explosion in a Kyiv apartment, according to Ukrainian police, resulted in the deaths of two soldiers. It was unclear exactly what caused the explosion that hurt a second man.
• Due to their alleged involvement in human rights violations in the Ukrainian town of Andriivka, the US State Department declared that Russian Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov and Russian Guard Corporal Daniil Frolkin were prohibited from entering the country.

Diplomacy and politics

• In the midst of an ongoing investigation into corruption over software purchases, Ukraine fired its two top cyber-defense officials, Yury Shchyhol, head of the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine, and Victor Zhora, his deputy.

• Lachlan Murdoch, the CEO of Fox Corp., visited Kyiv to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The meeting, according to Ukraine, was a “very important signal” of support given how the Israel-Ghasia conflict has diverted attention away from the conflict in Ukraine. According to Zelenskyy, the meeting also included Jerome Starkey, a journalist for the British tabloid The Sun, and Fox News reporter Benjamin Hall, who was seriously hurt while covering the conflict last year.
• Zelenskyy charged Russia with attempting to incite unrest from the Balkans to the Middle East in an interview with The Sun that was also published in the UK’s Times newspaper, a division of the same media organization. According to Zelenskyy, “Ukraine today is at the center of these global risks associated with this Third World War.” He acknowledged that some areas of the battlefield were not progressing but noted victories in the Black Sea, urging Ukraine’s allies to continue providing military support. He told the newspaper, “We actually deployed a portion of the Russian fleet.” “We carried it out.”
• The 2016 Eurovision Song Contest winner, Ukrainian singer Jamala, was added to Russia’s wanted list. According to the independent Russian news outlet Mediazona, Jamala—whose real name is Susana Jamadinova—was charged with violating a law that forbids disseminating false information about the Russian military and the Ukraine War. Crimean Tatar Jamala has long been critical of Russia and stated to Zelenskyy last year that “reminding people that foreigners came to my house to kill, mutilate life, destroy, and rewrite my culture” was her top priority. She used a facepalm emoji in response to the Instagram arrest warrant for the Russian.
• In advance of the Ukraine Recovery Conference, which Japan will host the following year, a delegation led by senior industry and foreign ministry officials, including business representatives, traveled to Ukraine for discussions.

Weapons

• Unannouncedly traveling to Kyiv, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin unveiled a $100 million package containing artillery munitions, air defense interceptors, and anti-tank weaponry. Zelenskyy was assured by Austin that the US would support him “over the long haul.” Rustem Umerov, the defense minister, was also present.