The Russian invasion

The outside world's response
"Not relevant to send British troops to Ukraine"

It is out of the question for Britain to send troops to Ukraine. Foreign Minister David Lammy tells La Repubblica.

French Le Monde reported yesterday, citing sources, that France and Great Britain "do not rule out" sending soldiers and private defense companies to Ukraine.

- We are very clear that we are ready and continue to support the Ukrainians, especially through education. At the same time, it has long been our position that we do not send British troops to the conflict area, says Lammy.

The battles
Russian pace the highest since the first days of the war

Russian troops are advancing in Ukraine at the fastest pace since the first days of the full-scale invasion in 2022, Reuters reports, citing data from analysts and war bloggers.

During the month of November, Russian forces took 600 square kilometers, according to data from Deep State, an analysis group with close ties to Ukraine's army.

Currently, Russia is entering the city of Kurachov, a step in the direction of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub in Ukraine.

The rapid advances and the US's go-ahead for Ukraine to shell targets far into Russia mean that some observers believe that the war is entering its most dangerous phase so far, writes Reuters.

Ukraine: Record number of Russian drones last night

188 drones were sent from Russia against Ukraine last night. The Ukrainian air force says it is a record number in a single attack, AFP reports.

In total, 17 of Ukraine's 24 regions were affected in the night's attack. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, most were shot down by anti-aircraft fire. There are no reports of casualties, but residential buildings and infrastructure were damaged.

The air raid warning in Kyiv sounded over seven hours last night. Russia has subjected civilians in Ukraine to increasingly massive bombardment since last summer in an attempt to wear down the population. There is now a concern ahead of winter that the electricity grid will not be able to cope with the cold while being exposed to attacks by Russia. 

Sources: Ukraine received new robots before the decision

Britain sent several long-range Storm Shadow robots to Ukraine before Britain and the US gave it the green light to use donated long-range weapons against targets in Russia. That is according to sources for Bloomberg.

The delivery is said to have taken place a number of weeks ago and was not directly linked to the decision, but was due to Ukraine starting to run out of Storm Shadow robots.

Ukraine attacked Russia with Storm Shadow and the US ATACMS robot for the first time last week. On Tuesday, the Kremlin said that Ukraine had fired ATACMS missiles into its territory twice in the past three days.