As Ukraine, Russia and the United States engaged in their first peace talks since February this week, the front lines continued to deteriorate for Moscow as its casualties rose to a possible new record without any significant territorial gains.
asserted
casualties → engage → gains
Ukraine’s military said it had caused more than 26,000 Russian casualties – meaning those killed and seriously wounded – in the first 10 days of November, suggesting this month’s figure could mark a new record topping October’s 54,400.
uncertain
figure → say → 54,400
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On November 9, Ukraine also claimed a new daily record of 2,980 Russian soldiers killed or wounded.
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Ukraine → dominate → soldiers
That marked the fourth reported daily record this year.
asserted
That → mark → record
Al Jazeera cannot independently verify casualty claims by either side.
uncertain
Jazeera → verify → side
This cluster of new casualty records in the autumn, accompanied by a lack of any significant territorial gains by Russia, suggested that Moscow was not coming any closer to its goal of seizing the last remaining quarter of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region this year.
uncertain
Moscow → accompany → region
A group of pro-Ukrainian hackers from Belarus said they had accessed records of the Russian state statistical service, Rosstat, and discovered an official tally of 450,000 Russian fatalities for the entire full-scale invasion, since 2022.
asserted
they → say → 2022
Independent assessments indicate that Russia has seized a net 117sq km (45sq miles) this year, a poor showing for its pains.
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Russia → indicate → pains
Presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation, told Vesti television after the talks concluded that he would be satisfied “only when we win and sign a peace agreement on our terms”.
asserted
we → head → terms
Russia has demanded territory Ukraine is not willing to surrender, and said NATO needs to pull out of all the former Soviet bloc countries which joined it since 1997.
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which → demand → 1997
Medinsky called for “a new, comprehensive, and just security system in Europe,” because the one put in place after World War II “is functioning very poorly, and, in fact, the entire system is sick.
asserted
system → call → fact
In Ukraine, a festering wound has simply burst.”
asserted
wound → fester → Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saw it differently.
asserted
Zelenskyy → see → it
“When the Russians now talk about a security architecture for themselves …
asserted
Russians → talk → themselves
What they really want is to freely interfere in the affairs of other countries, and to use force whenever they want, and to make sure that no one can support liberty inside Russia,” he told the Danish parliament, the Folketing, on the day the talks concluded.
asserted
talks → want → day
Although US negotiators agreed to table the subject of a European security architecture at Abu Dhabi, the three European powers present – Germany, France and the United Kingdom – did not, and they were excluded from the proceedings.
asserted
they → agree → proceedings
“We did not communicate with them.
asserted
We → communicate → them
We don’t really understand what their status is here,” Medinsky said.
asserted
Medinsky → understand → ?
Europe agrees with Ukraine that such a discussion puts the cart before the horse.
asserted
discussion → agree → horse
“The idea of discussing European-Russian security infrastructure is a complex and potentially dangerous one,” Zelenskyy said on the eve of the talks.
asserted
Zelenskyy → discuss → talks
“First, we must discuss how to end Russia’s war against Ukraine.
asserted
we → discuss → Ukraine
Ukraine has asked for an ironclad guarantee of military intervention if it is attacked again, as offered in NATO’s Article 5.
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it → ask → Article
Instead, Zelenskyy said, the Trump administration offered “something similar to NATO”.
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administration → say → NATO
Russian President Vladimir Putin received the US negotiating team in Saint Petersburg after talks in Abu Dhabi, and repeated the Russian position that the presence of European peacekeepers in a post-war Ukraine would also be “absolutely unacceptable”.
asserted
presence → receive → Ukraine
Zelenskyy attributed Russia’s absolutism to its inaccurate understanding of realities on the ground.
asserted
Zelenskyy → attribute → ground
“Putin lives in a different reality,” he told journalists in Copenhagen on November 11.
asserted
he → live → November
“When I received the second report from our negotiating group after the meetings in Abu Dhabi, they told me that the Russians believe and claim that they have already occupied half of the [part of the] Donbas region which is actually under our control.
uncertain
which → receive → control
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed to have seized 3,600sq km (1,400sq miles) of Ukraine this year, and Putin has repeated the claim.
uncertain
Putin → claim → claim
Still, Abu Dhabi did produce some results.
asserted
Dhabi → produce → results
Russia and Ukraine said there would be a new POW exchange of at least 1,000 or possibly 1,500 prisoners on each side.
uncertain
Russia → say → side
And Zelenskyy said de-escalation steps were discussed.
asserted
steps → say → ?
‘Ukraine faced constant alarms’
asserted
Ukraine → face → alarms
In the run-up to Abu Dhabi, Russia pounded Ukraine’s cities.
asserted
Russia → pound → cities
“For 10 days and nights, Ukraine faced constant alarms,” said its General Staff.
asserted
Staff → face → alarms
During that period, Russia launched 3,519 drones, and Ukraine managed to intercept 3,068 of them, they said, including 83 percent of the jet-powered drones, which now comprise roughly half of the swarm.
asserted
which → launch → swarm
On the night of November 7, Russia unleashed 36 ballistic missiles into Ukraine, including some reportedly manufactured by North Korea, striking energy infrastructure.
uncertain
Russia → unleash → infrastructure
Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyi has asked European allies to provide generators and battery packs for homes, as well as mobile shelters and buses to keep urban transport moving during blackouts.
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Koretskyi → ask → blackouts
On November 12, Ukraine reported it was experiencing renewed restrictions on its use of the Starlink satellite service, which it needs to coordinate interceptors to incoming Russian drones.
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it → report → drones
“This directly impacts our ability to intercept Russian kamikaze drones,” said Zelenskyy.
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Zelenskyy → impact → drones
“Due to the speed limitations, we simply cannot intercept them in time.”
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we → intercept → time
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
