Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

The Russians are preparing for the defense of Mariupol, putting dragon's teeth around the city

Russia is making significant efforts to build fortifications in its rear to prevent a surprise counterattack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VSU).

This was announced on Twitter by the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom, citing intelligence.

"Russia has begun building defenses around the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Two factories are producing concrete pyramidal anti-tank structures known as 'dragon's teeth' for this purpose," the report said.

The defensive facilities were probably placed between Mariupol and the village of Nevelske and from the northern part of Mariupol to the village of Stari Krim.

British intelligence notes that Mariupol is part of Russia's "land bridge" to occupied Crimea - a key logistical communication link.

The "dragon's teeth" in question were also sent to prepare defensive fortifications in the Zaporizhzhia region and Kherson.

"Russia is strengthening its lines in all occupied regions. On October 19, 2022, Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner group, announced the construction of a fortified Wagner defense line in the Russian-occupied part of the Luhansk region," the intelligence officers from London recall.

According to them, this activity shows that Russia is making significant efforts to prepare a deep defense beyond the current front line.

"The aim is likely to prevent a sudden advance by Ukrainian forces in the event of a breach," the report noted.

Russia's losses in the war in Ukraine

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian occupiers have lost 277 aircraft and 260 helicopters. The total number of Russian soldiers killed is about 76,460.

On November 3, the deputy chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksiy Gromov, said that Russia lost twice as many aircraft in Ukraine as the USSR during the war in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, analysts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) point out that alongside the significant losses of personnel during the fighting in Ukraine, the Russian military continues to experience serious problems with the supply of heavy military equipment. Russia is currently losing more than 40 armored vehicles per day.

Kyiv does not give up negotiations with Russia

Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter that Ukraine is not giving up on negotiations with Russia, but wants it to withdraw its troops first, and President Vladimir Putin is not ready for that. “We are constructive in our assessment, we will talk to the next leader”, Podolyak specified. “It is vital that Russia be forced to engage in genuine peace talks”, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. “Donetsk region remains the epicenter of the fighting and hundreds of Russians die there every day. The cities of Bakhmut and Avdeevka are at the center of the heaviest fighting”, said Zelensky, who called for closer ties with Israel in the field of security.

"I think it is clear to everyone what Ukraine emphasizes and what Israel emphasizes in the field of security. I believe that we can significantly strengthen our countries, especially since the threats to us are connected," Zelensky said after a conversation with Benjamin Netanyahu whom he congratulated on winning the Israeli elections last week.

Zelensky has repeatedly called on Israel to provide Kyiv with weapons, especially air defense systems. He criticized Israel for its neutrality in the war, but in late October noted a positive trend in relations after the two countries began sharing intelligence on Russia's use of Iranian drones.

Ukraine also announced that Russian forces were looting en masse in Kherson, and after the forced evacuation of the city's residents, soldiers in civilian clothes occupied the vacated homes. They are preparing for the battle, cited by both sides as one of the most important in the conflict.

On the 258th day of the war, power outages continue in Kyiv and seven other regions of Ukraine due to Russian strikes.

The US has confirmed that it is talking to Russia about Ukraine and nuclear weapons

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that he had held several talks with Russian officials in the past month.

In the words of Sullivan, who is known as an advocate of maintaining contacts with Moscow, it is in the "interest" of the United States to have such a relationship, as well as in the "interests of every country affected by this conflict."

"They clearly understand who we are dealing with," he said, referring to representatives of the US administration who participate in such talks.

Contacts and negotiations

The Wall Street Journal report came days before US midterm elections, the campaign for which has shown divisions within the US administration over both military aid to Ukraine and the need for talks to end the war.

According to the publication, Sullivan spoke with the Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, and the aide to the Russian President, Yuri Ushakov. Another publication - last week's Washington Post - claimed that the US was encouraging Ukraine to negotiate with Russia (the Wall Street Journal made no mention of talks to end the war).

As a matter of fact, Sullivan made it clear in September - even when there was another signal from Russia that it could use nuclear weapons - that Washington had been discussing the issue with Moscow, including at a high level, for months.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the US reserves the right to engage in dialogue with Russia.

"Unwavering Support"

Jean-Pierre also said that the White House will stand by Ukraine regardless of the results of the upcoming midterm elections, even if the Republicans win them.

Despite emerging divisions in Congress, the majority of Democrats and Republicans still support this policy. But candidates close to former President Donald Trump — as well as radical factions in the Democrats — are questioning it.

The speaker drew attention to the nearly 40 billion dollars for Ukraine, approved in May by both parties, and to the planned additional spending of 11.2 billion.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell called for increased military aid. And Trump's vice president, Mike Pence, who distanced himself from him after the January 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol, has criticized those in the party who oppose arms shipments to Kyiv.

Russia imposed counter-sanctions on 74 companies from 11 countries, including Bulgaria

Russia has imposed counter-sanctions on 74 companies from 11 countries, including Bulgaria, in the field of military-technical cooperation, TASS reported, referring to the press service of the cabinet in Moscow.

The Russian government has approved a list of legal entities that will be subject to special economic measures. The relevant decree was drawn up as provided for by a decree of President Vladimir Putin on "responsible special economic measures in connection with hostile actions by certain foreign countries and international organizations".

The list includes 74 organizations from Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Canada, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Estonia and the USA. The conclusion of deals in the field of military-technical cooperation with the companies on this list is prohibited, according to a press release of the government.

In May of this year, implementing the same decree, the Russian government approved another list of legal entities subject to special economic measures. More than 30 organizations were included in it, most of them former subsidiaries of Gazprom.

Here are the 15 Bulgarian military companies punished by Putin:

Arsenal-Kazanlak, VMZ-Sopot, Beta - Cherven Bryag, Arcus Co, Dunarit-Ruse, Terem, Balkanrous Trading, Balkan Hunter, EL Kart, EIM Trade, UMT, Sage Consultants, Hartford International Group, Metallika-AB EOOD, Emco.

Turkey will start paying for Russian gas in rubles

Turkey and Russia reached a consensus on mutual payments in national currencies, including in the energy sector. This was announced by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Fatih Dönmez today.

"Our trade with Russia continues on many fronts. Energy is undoubtedly one of the biggest expenses, but it is also related to tourism, to food products. For almost 5-6 years, both leaders (Presidents of Turkey and Russia Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Vladimir Putin) express their intention to continue the path to trading in national currencies. At the moment, the process is accelerating. During our last meetings, an agreement was reached to pay for Russian gas in rubles. In this regard, of course it is necessary to complete some technical activities," he said in an interview with TRT television.

At the same time, Dönmez confirmed that partial trade in national currencies has already started between the countries.

“Heroes” of Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics - who are they? – analysis by Dmitry Chuprakov for OFFNews

Russian propaganda has done an excellent job of convincing the public that the emergence of the so-called Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics in 2014 was not Russian intervention, but the will of the people. Sometimes even among the opponents of Russian aggression, one can come across an opinion like "Well, there (in Donetsk and Lugansk) people really rebelled."

Before the start of the war in 2014, Donetsk was an economically developed city with excellent infrastructure and an international airport. The city even hosted the European Football Championship in 2012. Dramatic changes occurred in 2014 along with the "Russian world" (Russian Mir) and these regions of Ukraine turned into something more reminiscent of a pirate sub-states with reigning lawlessness.

More than eight years have passed since these events began. I propose to recall several "heroes" who were at the base of the so-called DPR and LPR, and then there will be fewer people who say, "Well, people really rebelled there."

"In the end, I pulled the trigger on the war. If our detachment had not crossed the border, everything would have finished in the end, both in Kharkiv and in Odesa. There would be several dozen killed, burned, arrested. And that would be the end. And practically the flywheel of the war, which is still going on, was launched by our detachment," is how Igor Girkin, a retired colonel of Russia's FSB, describes the events in Ukraine that led to the start of the war in eastern Ukraine.

It is worth noting that there are no former FSB employees.

On April 12, 2014, an armed squad led by Russian FSB colonel Girkin illegally crossed the border into Ukraine and seized administrative buildings in the city of Sloviansk, Donetsk region. On April 14, Acting President of Ukraine Alexander Turchynov announced the start of the anti-terrorist operation (ATO). Thus began the war in Eastern Ukraine.

A month later, FSB Colonel Igor Girkin headed the Ministry of Defense of the then-formed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), where Alexander Borodai, a Russian businessman and long-time acquaintance of Igor Girkin, was appointed the first chairman of the Ministerial council.

Alexander Borodai

By the way, today Borodai is a member of the State Duma of Russia and a member of Putin's United Russia party.

Borodai was later replaced in his post in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic by another "exceptional" politician, Denis Pushilin.

Pushilin hails from the Donetsk region, which at least raised fewer questions than Borodai, who is actually a citizen of Russia.

Pushilin had never been a politician before, and the most famous fact about him before coming to power was his active participation in the MMM Mavrodius financial pyramid, in which Pushilin lured lovers of easy money through fraud.

This choice of Putin fell on him, probably out of love for negative selection (when not talented people are taken to power, but the ones that are stupid and obedient).

After all, Vladimir Putin later did not hesitate to reward the so-called fighters for the so-called independence.

Arseniy Pavlov, nicknamed "Motorola", was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage by Putin for his participation in the military operations in eastern Ukraine. A few years ago, a video appeared on the web in which he fired a grenade launcher at residential buildings in Donetsk for fun, calling it a "Morning dawn".

“Is there no one there?” - asks cameraman Arseniy behind the scenes.

“I don't care (I don't care),” replies Motorola, and continues to fire at the houses. Apparently, the hero of Russia wants to show how the Donbas is actually "bombed".

Another holder of the Order of Courage, given to him by Putin himself, is Alexey Mozgovoy.

In 2015, he was assassinated. One of the main versions is that he was liquidated by his own leaders of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic. In 2020, the General Prosecutor's Office of the LPR posthumously accused the laureate of killing civilians, proving his involvement in the execution of a family.

On May 9, 2014, Putin's hero shot civilians: businessman Oleg Burikhin, his wife and their 10-year-old daughter. Fortunately, the girl managed to survive.

With that, we remembered some of the "heroes" - FSB officer Girkin, Russian MP Borodai, MMM officer Pushilin, thug Motorola and Putin's award-winning assassin Mozgovoy. And they are only the tip of the iceberg of the rebelled "people".

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