Ukraine’s military chief says aide killed in blast during birthday celebration

Ukraine confirmed on November 6 that its forces had inflicted “significant” damage on a Russian missile carrier in Kremlin-occupied Crimea two days earlier, identifying the vessel as the Askold and saying it may not not be repairable.

“Confirmed. The Russian missile carrier Askold, the last Karakurt-class ship with stealth technology, was damaged following the defeat by the Ukrainian armed forces of the maritime and port infrastructure of the plant Zaliv in temporarily occupied Crimea, “The Ukrainian army said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his army struck the Askold in the Kerch shipyard in Crimea, which Russia illegally seized and annexed in 2014 but which Kiev is seeking to retake.

“I thank everyone who ensured the successful destruction of the Russian ship at the Kerch shipyard,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video speech.

Two days earlier, the Russian military said a Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in Crimea damaged a Russian ship.

The Russian Defense Ministry said 15 cruise missiles were fired at a shipyard in eastern Crimea, adding that 13 were shot down. It did not name the ship or detail the damage.

The Ukrainian army, also on November 4 said she had carried out a “successful strike” on the Zaliv shipyard. She added that one of Russia’s “most modern” ships was at the shipyard, but did not provide details at the time.

Earlier on November 6, Ukraine declared a large-scale air alert, ordering citizens to take shelter amid indications of a possible new wave of Russian strikes.

The mid-afternoon alert came after Russia earlier in the day. struck Odessa, Ukraine’s main Black Sea port, with missiles and drones, injuring at least eight people and causing widespread Shame at a famous art museum and residential buildings in the city’s historic center, while drone debris set grain warehouses on fire.

Regional Governor Oleh Kiper put the final number of injured at eight after initially saying five residents were injured in the attack.

Kiper wrote on Telegram that the missiles were aimed at the city center and an abandoned industrial building.

Natalia Humeniouk, spokesperson for the Southern Military Command, said Russia attacked the southern regions with various types of missiles and attack drones early on November 6.

Humenyuk said the city of Odessa was attacked by Iskander-M and Onyx missiles as well as Iranian-made Shahed drones. Humenyuk and Kiper said 15 drones were shot down by air defense.

The National Art Museum of Odessa, located in the UNESCO World Heritage Zone, near the port, was also damaged by a Russian missile on the day it celebrated its 124th anniversary.

“On November 6, the National Art Museum in Odessa celebrated its 124th anniversary. The Russians “congratulated” our architectural monument with a missile that hit nearby. The walls of the building are damaged, some windows and glass are broken,” Kiper wrote on Telegram. .

Separately, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that 20 apartment buildings were damaged in Odessa.

Meanwhile, the 128th Separate Transcarpathian Mountain Assault Brigade of Ukraine announcement that the final number of its soldiers killed last week in a Russian airstrike was 19, but provided no further details.

Ukrainian authorities have not yet disclosed all the details of the incident, but the news portal Ukrayinska Pravda said on November 3, soldiers were participating in a ceremony in the Zaporizhzhya region, as part of Artillery Day activities, when Russian shells hit the region.

The report quotes Viktor Mykyta, head of the Transcarpathian administration, as saying that November 6 had been declared a day of mourning throughout the soldiers’ home region.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on November 4 that an investigation had been opened into the attack, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called “a tragedy that could have been avoided.”

On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces fought 53 close engagements over the past 24 hours along the front line, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said. said in its daily report of November 6.

Heavy fighting was underway around the industrial town of Avdiyivka in the eastern Donetsk region, which Russian troops have been trying to capture for several weeks in one of the most intense battles of the war.

Ukrainian troops repelled 10 assaults in the Avdiyivka region, the army said, despite the Russians resorting to air support.

Fighting has also resumed in the southern Zaporizhzhya region, where Russian forces are trying to retake Robotyne, a village liberated by Ukrainian troops in August.

In the USA Television interview On November 5, Zelenskiy called on Washington to provide additional aid to help his country fight the Russian invasion.

“If Russia kills us all, it will attack NATO countries and you will send your sons and daughters (to fight),” Zelenskiy told NBC.

Zelenskiy also invited former President Donald Trump to visit Ukraine to see for himself the nature of the conflict and that “I will need 24 minutes, no more” to explain to him that he cannot handle this war because of Russian President Vladimir Putin. .

Trump, the leading Republican candidate facing Democratic President Joe Biden in the 2024 election, said he could end the war in “24 hours” and expressed doubts about the need for continued aid to Ukraine .