Siterep for November 24–25 (as of 2:00 pm Moscow Standard Time)
The situation on the frontline
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported shelling near the village of Vilshana in the Kupiansk district, which indicates a minor advance of Ukrainian forces in the Svatove direction. In this regard, OSINT analyst Def Mon slightly expanded the Ukrainian control line.
Russian troops are actively fortifying in the Svatove direction, strengthening the defense line: digging anti-tank ditches and filling them with water, digging trenches, and placing concrete blocks everywhere. In the future, this will additionally slow down the offensive of the Ukrainian forces and stabilize the contact line.
However, it is still unknown whether the pro-Russian forces will have time to prepare a defense line before the arrival of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russian forces have had some success in the Bakhmut direction: they are advancing on Soledar and Bakhmut from the northern and southern sides.
Def Mon believes that Russian troops will intensify attacks in the Donetsk direction to push back the Armed Forces of Ukraine and restore the railway line running from Donetsk (through Stepne) to southern Ukraine. To do this, they need to advance in Marinka, Mykhailivka, Pavlivka, and Vuhledar.
It is likely that the Russian Forces will not be able to counterattack in the Zaporizhzhia or Kherson direction until this supply route is restored. Without adequate supply, they can only defend.
Russian propagandist Aleksandr Kots (who recently became a member of the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia) said that the units of the Western Military District had significantly reduced the time from the introduction of the target to strike on it (“kill chain”). Previously, it was a complex system of reports hierarchy from the bottom up and back down, which took a lot of time and often was fruitless as a result. Now, according to Kots, special forces teams operating near the line of contact transmit the coordinates of the target directly to the artillerymen, who strike within two minutes, and the adjustment is also carried out online using a UAV. For example, the units of 2S7 Malka self-propelled 203mm cannons and 2S4 Tyulpan 240mm self-propelled heavy mortars, which consist of mobilized soldiers, are used in this way. This decision may reduce the advantage of Ukrainian HIMARS MLRS.
Pro-Russian journalist Semyon Pegov (a.k.a. Wargonzo) is reported to have received the Order of Courage from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
On November 24, Kherson was hit again by Russian artillery and MLRS. According to the head of the regional administration, Yaroslav Yanushevich, a multistoried building and a playground were hit. Four people were killed, and ten people were injured.
On the evening of November 24, the head of the Kyiv Regional Administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, announced that a seventh person had died in the hospital (apparently, he meant the victims of the strike on a residential building in Vyshhorod).
The European Commission urges EU countries to supply Ukraine with high-voltage transformers and electric generators on a mass scale.
The head of Ukrenergo [Ukraine's electricity transmission system operator] says that emergency blackouts will soon be replaced by planned ones. All three nuclear power plants located in the non-occupied territory are functioning and will reach their planned capacity in 1-2 days. In addition, the Ukrainian energy system is again connected to the EU energy system.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that only Ukrainian air defense missiles hit Ukrainian residential buildings during the November 23 attacks. It emphasizes that air defense systems were allegedly deployed in populated areas. We have not seen any evidence of this.
On November 24, occupied Stakhanov (Kadiivka) was shelled. According to the separatists, a one-story apartment building and a children's art studio were destroyed, and the building of a TV and radio broadcasting company was damaged. No casualties have been reported so far. It is unknown if there were any military targets.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin reports that nine torture chambers and (according to preliminary data) 432 bodies of murdered civilians have already been found in the liberated part of the Kherson region.
According to the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), more than 15,000 people have gone missing in Ukraine since the beginning of the current invasion (this number is not accurate and is an underestimate).
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU or commonly SBU) detained a boat ride station owner, who, according to the SSU, helped FSB officers cross to the left bank of the Dnipro. Allegedly, he voluntarily gave them six boats, each with a standard capacity of 30 people.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that on the 24th of November, as a result of another exchange, 50 Russian servicemen were returned to the Russian side. A video of the returnees was posted.
The Danish television channel TV2/Bornholm published a video of the damaged Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Norway is handing Ukraine:
- One M109A3GN self-propelled howitzer;
- 20,000 spare parts for previously transferred M109A3GN;
- 55,000 pieces of winter clothing;
- 55,000 emergency bandage kits;
- 30,000 rations
The Middle East Eye news agency clarified how many high-precision missiles for the TRLG-230 MLRS Turkey had transferred to Ukraine — according to various sources, from 50 to 200 pieces.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine repainted one of the captured T-62M tanks in pixel camouflage, and now it is in service with the AFU.
On November 23, Russian state media reported that the Federal Security Service had liquidated three Ukrainian saboteurs. According to the Service, they were planning to attack energy facilities in Voronezh. The Moscow Times reporters found two of those killed on social media. It turned out that they were residents of Voronezh and airsoft enthusiasts who participated in live-action role play based on the video game S.T.A.L.K.E.R. In the video showing the search in alleged saboteurs’ base, the FSB showed a flag and a notebook with the inscription “list of the personnel of the Svoboda [Freedom] group”, trying to present a fictional group from the game as a criminal organization or a sabotage team.
Mobilized soldiers from Serpukhov, who recorded a video message with complaints, and in response were threatened to be court-martialed, refused to disarm and put forward demands: they are ready to fight on the second or third line, but not on the front line.
Wayne, one of the well-known regulars on the pro-Russian LostArmour forum, writes that there is an order to picture these mobilized as traitors and not to sympathize with them in any way.
In the Pskov region, officials assemble mobile groups for participation in mass events in support of the war.