Russia advances in southern Ukraine, heavy fighting continues

Russian troops make significant progress in Ukraine towards Zaporizhzhia. They quickly approached the fortified city of Hulyaypole from the east. Ukrainian troops, still short of infantry, were forced to abandon their positions in Zelenyy Haj, Chervone and several small villages and retreat towards Hulyaypole.

Russia’s likely operational goal was to encircle Hulyaypole from the north by cutting the road along the Haychul River, isolating the city from the rest of Ukraine before encircling it.

Fierce fighting continued at Pokrovsk. Russia suffered enormous losses even by the standards of this war. However, Russian troops still have not managed to gain a foothold in the northern part of the destroyed city. Foggy weather reduces drone efficiency on both sides. This helped Ukraine bring in more supplies and reinforcements, but also allowed Russia to employ previously effective infiltration tactics.

It currently seems highly unlikely that Russia will be able to take control of all of Pokrovsk by the end of November, although President Vladimir Putin has reportedly given that deadline to the Russian military command.

Fierce fighting also continued in Kupyansk. Both sides made small territorial gains, but Ukraine continued to control the southern part of the city as well as parts of the central districts. Therefore, reports from Russian propaganda channels that Kupiansk has been completely captured are clearly false.

Christian Molling…

…is director of research at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin and heads the Security, Defense and Arms program there. He has researched and published on the topics of security and defense, weapons and technology, stabilization and crisis management for more than 20 years. He regularly analyzes military developments in the Ukrainian conflict for ZDFheute.

Andras Racz…

…is an Associate Fellow at the Security and Defense Program of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) in Berlin. He researches and publishes on armed forces in Eastern Europe and Russia as well as hybrid warfare.

Both sides continued their long-range attacks on the other side. Russia attacked energy and logistics related targets in addition to several civilian infrastructure facilities. Lviv, Dnipro and Kharkiv were particularly affected.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues its attacks on Russian oil industry targets and parts of Russia’s power grid. However, given the size of Russia’s power grid, such an attack would likely cause more than just a minor, temporary disruption.

On November 19, Russian missiles struck, among other things, the city of Ternopil. A multi-storey residential building was hit directly by a cruise missile. The explosion destroyed the entire top floor. Since the incident at around 06.30, many residents were still in their apartments.

A total of 33 people died, 90 people were injured, and 6 people died without a trace. This was probably one of the deadliest attacks of the war.

Also on November 19, Russia attacked a major fuel and logistics depot in Lviv, which is one of the most important transshipment points for Western military and fuel shipments. Although the exact extent of the damage is difficult to estimate, based on the numerous explosions and kilometer-high plumes of smoke, it can be assumed that a large amount of fuel and ammunition was destroyed.

Depending on the size of losses, Ukrainian units may face a shortage of artillery ammunition in the coming weeks.

There are reports that Russia is mobilizing Ukrainian men from the occupied territories. According to official Ukrainian data, 46,000 of them have so far been mobilized and sent to fight for the Russian army, often on suicide missions. In certain parts of the front line, one in five or six prisoners of war were actually mobilized Ukrainian citizens.

You can find the latest reports on Russia’s attack on Ukraine at any time on our live blog: