Ukraine announced on Sunday that the country was suffering one of the most intense Russian attacks since Russia invaded the country, and Russia announced its response to a Ukrainian drone attack on Rostov, while Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of hindering the prisoner exchange process.
Ukrainian troops are repelling one of the strongest attacks since Russia’s massive invasion of the country, Army Commander Alexander Sersky said today.
Russian analysts believe the war has entered its most dangerous phase as Russian troops advance and North Korea sends troops to confront Russia and the West as they ponder how to end the conflict.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is traveling around the world to pressure NATO countries to allow Kyiv to use long-range missiles it has provided him so he can bomb targets in Russia.
Ukraine is bracing for its worst winter since the war began, after Russia’s long-range bombing destroyed what officials said was nearly half of its power generation capacity.
Donetsk attacked by Ukrainian drones (Al Jazeera)
Ukraine attack
On the other hand, Vasily Golubev, the governor of Russia’s Rostov region, confirmed today that Russian air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 16 Ukrainian drones in the province’s airspace.
In a statement, Golubev announced that “Russian air defense forces responded to a large-scale enemy air strike,” explaining that “Novoshakhtinsk, Kamensk and Ustidon in the Rostov region 16 drones have been destroyed over the Netsky region.”
The governor of Rostov Region reported no casualties or damage on the ground and that Russian troops continued to work at the scene of the drone crash.
Russia accuses Ukraine of using terrorist tactics, especially offensive drone strikes and shelling of civilians and civilian facilities in Russia, in an attempt to divert attention from the failure of the so-called “counterattack” announced in June last year.
Moscow believes that the Ukrainian armed forces “attack Russian border areas of the Republic of Crimea and the provinces of Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk and Voronezh on an almost daily basis with drones and missiles with the aim of creating harm among civilians.” fear”.
exchange prisoners
Meanwhile, Kiev today called on Moscow to provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war who could be released in a prisoner swap, after Russia accused Kyiv of sabotaging the process.
“We are always ready to exchange prisoners of war,” Ukraine’s parliamentary commissioner for human rights Dmitry Lubynets said on Telegram, adding that Ukraine was “ready to accept its citizens” and accused Russia of slowing the process.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that “Ukraine is essentially obstructing the process and refusing to take back its citizens.” She added that the Russian Defense Ministry “offered to hand over 935 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but Ukraine Only 279 people were accepted.”
Zakharova emphasized that Russia “is not trying to gain political benefits by exchanging prisoners of war with Ukraine, but Kiev is organizing a political performance in this regard. We always emphasize that this interaction is humanitarian and not for any political gain.” Profit is the purpose.”
Russian Federation Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalikova said yesterday that Ukraine had “politicized” the issue. “We believe it is necessary to return to constructive dialogue and speed up the prisoner exchange process,” Moskalikova wrote on Telegram.
Notably, prisoners have been exchanged between the two countries on more than one occasion since Russia invaded its smaller neighbor in 2022. The last exchange took place in mid-October, with both sides repatriating a total of 95 prisoners.
Russo-Ukrainian War: Overview of Key Events on Day 982
On November 2, a damaged apartment building was attacked by a Russian drone in Kiev, Ukraine (Reuters)
Here’s what it looked like on Sunday, November 3:
fighting
- Russian forces shot down 19 Ukrainian drones overnight, 16 of them in the southern Rostov region and the rest in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
- In the early hours of Sunday morning, explosions were heard in Kiev and thick smoke rose above residential buildings, suggesting they were attacked by Russian drones.
- Earlier, Kiev Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on the Telegram channel that Ukrainian air defense forces were trying to repel Russian air strikes on the city and ordered people to stay in shelters.
- Ukraine’s top military commander, General Alexander Sersky, said Ukrainian troops were containing one of Russia’s “most powerful offensives” launched since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
- Russian news agencies quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying on Saturday that Russian troops had captured two other settlements on the Donbas front – Kurashivka and Pershotravneve.
Smoke fills the sky over Kiev after a Russian drone attack on November 2 (Reuters)
Russia-Ukraine relations
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Ukraine was sabotaging the prisoner exchange process and refusing to accept its citizens. She claimed that Russia was willing to hand over 935 Ukrainian prisoners of war, but Ukraine only accepted 279.
- Kiev denies the accusations and has demanded that Moscow provide a list of Ukrainian prisoners of war to be exchanged. Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner Dmitry Lubynets wrote on Telegram, “We are ready to exchange prisoners of war at any time!”
international relations
- Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council and Russian president from 2008 to 2012, warned the United States to take Russia’s nuclear warnings seriously to avoid World War III. Medvedev said that if U.S. and European leaders believe that “Russia will never cross a certain line,” then “they are wrong.”
- A U.S. citizen evacuated by Russia from eastern Ukraine after helping Russian forces attack Ukrainian forces said in Moscow that he had applied for Russian citizenship. Daniel Martindale said he had been providing information to the Russian military about the location of critical infrastructure in Ukraine for two years without any coercion.
How important is North Korea’s support for Russia?
