This week, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited Ukraine for the second time during the full-scale war, and the first important elections of President Donald Trumpʼs second term were held in the United States.
Meanwhile, the Russians continue to massively strike at Ukraineʼs critical infrastructure, and the government has approved a program of one-time aid payments as part of the Winter Support package.
Babel has compiled the main events of the week so that you can stay up to date with the news.
Attack on military awards ceremony in the Dnipropetrovsk region
On the evening of November 1, the Russians struck a Ukrainian military base in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The strike killed 12 servicemen and seven civilians. Another 36 servicemen were wounded, including soldiers from the 30th Marine Corps.
TSN journalist Dmytro Svyatnenko reported that his brother Volodymyr was killed in the attack. He and his brothers were gathered for the award ceremony.
A pre-trial investigation was initiated under the article about negligent attitude towards military service, committed under martial law.
On November 8, the Central District Court of Dnipro remanded in custody without bail the commander of an unmanned systems battalion who, despite a ban from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, gathered soldiers for an award ceremony in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Among others, civilians were present in the place. He faces five to eight years in prison.
Angelina Jolieʼs visit to Ukraine
On November 5, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie visited Kherson. This is Jolieʼs second visit to Ukraine since the beginning of Russiaʼs invasion in February 2022. She last visited Lviv in April 2022.
Politico, citing sources, wrote that the American actress crossed the Ukrainian border on foot and did not warn the authorities about her visit.
Jolie later spoke about her trip to Mykolaiv and Kherson, noting that the trip was under “constant threat” from Russian UAVs. She said she even had to stop and wait while a drone “flew overhead”.
The actressʼs arrival was accompanied by a scandal. Media publications wrote that her motorcade was stopped at a checkpoint in the Mykolaiv region, and TRC employees took away one of the drivers. He turned out to be a combat sambo trainer who accompanied Jolie as a volunteer.
The detention of Jolieʼs driver caused sharp indignation among Ukrainian government officials. According to media reports, Dmytro himself was released within a few hours, but ordered to report to the TRC later.
The first major US election of Trumpʼs second term
Several US states and cities held local elections on November 4. Democrats won three major races, raising a new generation of leaders and giving the struggling party a chance to make headway in next yearʼs congressional elections.
Zoran Mamdani, a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, has won the mayoral election in New York City. Mamdani will become the first Muslim mayor of the largest city in the United States and the first mayor of African descent.
And in Virginia and New Jersey, moderate Democrats Abigail Spanberger and Mickey Sherrill won the gubernatorial elections in landslide victories.
Zohran Kwame Mamdani / Facebook
"Winter Support" for Ukrainians
On November 5, the government approved a program to pay one-time assistance in the amount of UAH 6 500 as part of the "Winter eSupport" package.
The program is designed for citizens who need the most support: orphans, children under guardianship, children with disabilities in foster families, IDP children, IDPs with disabilities, single pensioners.
The program is scheduled to launch in early December. It will reach more than 660 000 people.
First life sentence for Russian military officer for shooting Ukrainian prisoner
A Russian soldier who shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war in the Zaporizhzhia direction was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Dmytro Kurashov, a 27-year-old Russian citizen, was a rifleman in the Storm-V assault detachment of the 127th Motorized Rifle Division of the Eastern Military District of the Russian Federation. In January 2024, he, together with other occupiers, attacked Ukrainian defenders near the village of Pryiutne in Zaporizhzhia.
The Ukrainian defender came out of the dugout without weapons, raised his hands, surrendering, but the occupier opened fire with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. The Ukrainian soldier died on the spot.
The court found Kurashov guilty of violating the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.
Ukraine synchronized sanctions against Russia with the 19th package of EU sanctions
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a number of new sanctions decisions against the Russian Federation on November 6. Among them is the synchronization of Ukrainian sanctions with the 19th package of EU sanctions.
The President of Ukraine also approved new sanctions affecting Russian companies that work in the field of resource extraction in the Arctic and finance the Russian Armed Forces.
Massive Russian attack on Ukraine
On the night of November 8, Russian troops launched a combined attack on Ukraine with missiles and drones. In total, 458 drones of various types and 45 missiles were launched, including “Iskanders”, “Kinzhals”, and “Kalibers”.
The energy infrastructure was once again under attack, leading to emergency power outages in a number of regions.
In Dnipro, the Russians targeted a high-rise building, killing three people and injuring 12. There are also injuries in Kyiv region, and in Poltava region, Kremenchuk was left without electricity due to the attack.
A nighttime Russian attack shut down all electricity generation at the state-owned enterprise “Centrenergo”, the largest attack on the companyʼs facilities since the start of the full-scale war.
“Centrenergo” has three TPPs on its balance sheet — the Vuhlehirska TPP is under occupation, and the Trypilska and Zmiivska were destroyed by the enemy in 2024.
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