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Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops in the Pokrovsk area of Donetsk oblast on Tuesday. “I met with our warriors at the command post of the 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine Azov, which is conducting a defensive operation in the Dobropillya sector,” said the Ukrainian president, referring to a town about 20km (12 miles) from Pokrovsk.
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Russian forces had pushed further into Pokrovsk and its environs, though much of it remained beyond firm control of either side, mapping by the Ukrainian project DeepState indicated on Tuesday. “The situation remains critical,” said Deepstate, adding that in some districts Russian forces were digging in and building up positions.
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The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its most recent assessment at time of writing, posted on 3 November: “Russian forces continue to advance in the Pokrovsk direction and appear to be operating with increasing comfort within Pokrovsk itself.” The ISW added that Ukrainian forces had liberated a significant portion of a Russian penetration in the Dobropillya direction, on the eastern flank of the Pokrovsk effort.
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Ukrainian long-range drones attacked an industrial plant about 1,300km inside Russia at Sterlitamak, local officials said on Tuesday. The city administration reported an explosion at the Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant that caused its water treatment facility to partially collapse, adding that the cause of the explosion was not known. The Ukrainian military general staff said there was “considerable damage” to the plant.
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Ukraine’s military said it struck a Lukoil oil refinery at Kstovo in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region east of Moscow. The extent of the damage was being assessed, it said. The Russian regional governor confirmed an attack by 20 drones near Kstovo.
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Russian military reservists will now have to guard oil refineries against Ukrainian drone strikes after Vladimir Putin signed a law on Tuesday extending their entanglement in the war effort. The Russian ruler also signed a law allowing military conscription all year round whereas previously it was possible only during limited periods in autumn and spring. Moscow legally bars conscripts from being deployed to combat, but after their military they enter Russia’s reserves, put them at risk of being sent to war. Heavy military spending has also started to strain the Russian state budget, with Moscow raising taxes to plug a rising deficit.
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Zelenskyy urged the US to remain open to supplying Kyiv with long-range weapons. Addressing a European Union summit from the Pokrovsk area, the Ukrainian president also called for more western sanctions on Russia – including on Russia’s gas and nuclear sectors – and said he wanted Ukraine to join the EU before 2030.
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Germany plans to raise its military aid to Ukraine by €3bn next year to about €11.5bn, the finance ministry in Berlin said on Tuesday. “This includes, among other things, artillery, drones, armoured vehicles and the replacement of two Patriot systems,” a ministry spokesman told AFP.
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Norwegian munitions maker Nammo has signed a letter of intent with a Ukrainian industrial partner to produce, develop and sell ammunition in Ukraine, Norway’s government said.
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Italy summoned Russia’s deputy ambassador on Tuesday to protest at what it said were “vulgar”, “disturbing” and “unacceptable” remarks by Moscow’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who linked the deadly collapse of a tower in Rome to Italy’s military support for Ukraine. The Italian foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said: “Italy will not alter its foreign policy stance or its principles in response to reckless verbal attacks”. The Russian embassy in Rome later posted condolences for the death of Romanian worker Octav Stroici in the collapse but took the opportunity to complain that the angry response to Zakharova’s comments was anti-Russian.
