Reports state that during an attack by Ukrainian naval drones on the night of November 10, the commander of the Russian Project 11770 Serna-class landing vessel was killed.

His funeral, which took place on November 20 in Russia, was shared on social media.

The vessel’s commander was Denis Nikitin, a senior midshipman of the Russian Navy, who was buried in Novorossiysk.

The official website of the Black Sea District Cossack Society stated that the Russian invader was killed during a night attack by Ukrainian strike naval drones off the coast of temporarily occupied Crimea.

The funeral of the eliminated commander of the Russian Project 11770 Serna-class landing craft on November 23. Photo credits: Twitter/@666_mancer

The incident took place on the night of November 10. During a night operation on the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea, the Ukrainian military damaged two landing craft: Project 1176 Akula and Project 11770 Serna.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine published a video of a strike on the invaders.

The funeral of the eliminated commander of the Russian Project 11770 Serna-class landing craft on November 23. Photo credits: Twitter/@666_mancer

The eliminated commander of the Project 11770 Serna-class landing craft, senior midshipman Denis Nikitin, was born on February 18, 1981, in Uzhur, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, from where he was drafted for military service in the Black Sea Fleet of the aggressor country. After graduating from the midshipmen’s school in 2001, he served in various positions at the Novorossiysk Naval Base.

In addition to the crew, the Russian landing crafts also carried armored vehicles, including a BTR-82 armored personnel carrier, at the time of the attack.

Open sources report that at the time of the invasion, the Russians had two Project 11770 crafts in the Black Sea. However, one of them was severely damaged in June last year during the fighting for Zmiyinyi Island.

Project 11770 Serna-class landing craft of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, as well as BTR-82 on board

At the same time, the Black Sea Fleet also had two Project 1176 crafts, the D-106 and D-295 boats.

Other losses

At the beginning of November, the Ukrainian Air Force destroyed the Russian Askold corvette in temporarily occupied Crimea with a missile.

Destroyed Russian Askold corvette. November 2023. Ukraine, Crimea. Photo credits: Russian propaganda resources

A Karakurt-class corvette was hit with a SCALP-EG missile at the Zatoka shipyard.

The Swiss Federal Council (government) approved the export of 25 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks to Germany.

However, with the condition that these combat vehicles do not get to Ukraine.

This decision was announced on the government website on Wednesday, November 22.

The tanks are to be sold to their original manufacturer, the German company Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH.

“Germany has given assurances that the tanks will remain either in Germany, with NATO, or with its EU partners to meet existing shortfalls,” the Swiss government stated.

Tank Leopard 2 (Pz 87) of the Armed Forces of Switzerland. Photo from open sources

In February this year, the German government asked the Swiss authorities to sell part of the decommissioned Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks back to the tank manufacturer, the German company Rheinmetall.

At the same time, the German side gave assurances that the tanks would not be transferred to Ukraine.

The press release of the Swiss government also separately notes that the tanks are not intended for Ukraine.

“The export of tanks abroad is subject to authorization under the provisions of the War Material Act. The export of these tanks to Germany is in line with the authorization criteria. Of crucial importance is the fact that Germany has assured that the tanks will remain in Germany, with NATO, or its EU partners,” the government stated.

It is worth noting that despite requests from Kyiv and allies, Switzerland has so far refused to allow countries that own Swiss-made weapons to re-export them to Ukraine.

In particular, in June 2023, Swiss parliamentarians did not support a bill that would have allowed third countries to transfer Swiss-made weapons to Ukraine. Most members of the lower house of the Swiss parliament, the National Council, rejected the parliamentary initiative.

Leopard 1A5 tank. Photo credits: toysforboys4

In the same month, the Swiss Federal Council refused to sell 96 Leopard 1A5 tanks to RUAG on the basis of neutrality legislation. These tanks are now in Italy and are in a precarious condition. They were planned to be transported to Germany for restoration and then transferred to Ukraine as military assistance.

The Romanian Air Force starts receiving used Norwegian F-16 fighter jets.

Romanian journalist Adelin Petrișor reported on this.

The first three aircraft are due to arrive this week. These fighter jets have been withdrawn from service in Norway.

In November 2022, after several months of negotiations between the Norwegian and Romanian parties, an agreement worth €388 million was signed.

The agreement includes the transfer of 32 F-16 fighter jets along with spare parts and auxiliary equipment, as well as maintenance services.

Lockheed Martin F-16AM/BM fighter jets of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, 2017. Photo credits: Norwegian Ministry of Defense

As part of this agreement, the Norwegian company Kongsberg Aviation Maintenance Services (KAMS) was selected as a strategic partner to provide support, maintenance, and training for Romanian maintenance personnel.

The value of the extended contract with KAMS, which was announced on June 8, 2023, is over NOK 700 million (more than $60 million).

Also, in June this year, the United States agreed to sell equipment and services to upgrade former Norwegian F-16 fighter jets for the benefit of Romania.

In addition, software support, supply of spare parts, consumables, and accessories, and maintenance support are provided. The estimated total value of the supply is $105 million.

The transfer of former Norwegian fighter jets to the Romanian Air Force is scheduled for 2023-2024.

An F-35A fighter jet of the US Air Force. Photo credits: US Air Force

The Romanian Defense Ministry is also planning to purchase fifth-generation American F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.

The estimated cost of the future program to purchase modern combat aircraft is $6.5 billion.

The delivery of fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets to the Danish Air Force is at risk of being further delayed.

Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen announced this, Bloomberg reports.

The new American fighter jets are to replace Denmark’s existing F-16 fighter jets, which the country will gradually transfer to Ukraine as part of its military aid.

The delay is due to technological problems at the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

According to the Minister, “there is currently no clear picture” of when the next F-35A fighter jets will arrive due to problems with the modernization of the software used on the aircraft.

F-35A fighter jet with the number L-007 of the Royal Danish Air Force. May 2023, USA. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Denmark

Poulsen added that he is in dialogue with his American colleagues to find a possible solution.

The Danish Defense Minister has previously warned that the delivery of new fighter jets, which was originally scheduled for the first half of 2024, would be delayed by at least six months.

However, despite this situation, Lund Poulsen assured that he does not expect the delays with the F-35A to affect the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine or any of Denmark’s NATO commitments.

Denmark has ordered a total of 27 fifth-generation F-35A fighter jets to replace its F-16 fleet.

The first F-35A fighter jets in Denmark. September 14, 2023. Photo credits: Danish Armed Forces

The first four fighter jets for the Royal Danish Air Force landed at Skrydstrup Air Base on September 14 this year.

The fighter jets flew from the United States to their home airfield in Denmark in two days. During the flight, the fighter jets made a stopover in the Azores in the Atlantic.

Previously, Denmark has officially confirmed the transfer of 19 F-16 multirole fighter jets to Ukraine as part of the military assistance. More than 70 Ukrainian military personnel have already arrived in Denmark for F-16 training.

Lithuania has transferred 3 million 7.62×51 mm cartridges to the Ukrainian Defense Forces as part of a new defense assistance package.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Defense reported on this on Wednesday, November 22.

The Ministry noted that ammunition for automatic rifles has already been handed over to the Ukrainian military.

In addition to cartridges, Lithuania’s new defense aid package for Ukraine includes remote detonation systems and winter gear.

Small arms cartridges from Lithuania for Ukraine, November 2023. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of Lithuania

“Our commitment to helping Ukraine remains unchanged. By providing our assistance packages, we are responding to Ukraine’s most important needs and priorities. By providing ammunition, remote detonation systems, and equipment needed in harsh winter conditions, we are significantly strengthening Ukraine’s resilience to withstand Russian aggression,” Arvydas Anušauskas, Lithuanian Defense Minister, noted.

The NASAMS launcher on a truck that was handed over to Ukraine. November 2023. Photo credits: Ministry of National Defence of Lithuania

A little over a week ago, Ukraine received NASAMS launchers and the necessary related equipment purchased by the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defense.

Last week, generators were delivered to Ukraine as part of the assistance.

In October, Lithuania, in cooperation with the German defense industry, started repairing Ukrainian Leopard tanks.

In addition to the ongoing donation of military equipment and hardware, Lithuania also actively trains Ukrainian soldiers, provides treatment and rehabilitation for Ukrainians, organizes expert consultations, and allocates funds from international funds to support Ukraine.

Training of Ukrainian soldiers in Lithuania. September 2023. Photo credits: Armed Forces of Lithuania

In particular, last month, the Ukrainian servicemen underwent training in Lithuania on the use of 120-mm mortars. The servicemen gained theoretical and practical skills and practiced live fire at the training ground.

Lithuanian radar equipment for Ukraine. September 2023. Photo credits: Lithuanian Ministry of Defense

In September, the Lithuanian Navy handed over radar equipment to Ukraine. Radar equipment kits are designed to provide maritime surveillance and develop the ability to understand the marine environment. Prior to that, Lithuania provided Ukraine with one and a half million rounds of ammunition.

Ammunition for small arms. Illustration photo

The total cost of Lithuanian military assistance for Ukraine currently amounts to approximately half a billion euros.

Germany transferred Marder infantry fighting vehicles and ammunition to Ukraine.

The German government reported on this on its website.

The list includes 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles with ammunition to add to the 60 already delivered.

The German Rheinmetall was engaged in the restoration of these infantry fighting vehicles for Ukraine.

The list of assistance also included 12 WISENT-1 mineclearing tanks.

Wisent 1 mineclearing vehicle of the Ukrainian military. 2023. Ukraine. Photo credits: @Osinttechnical

These mineclearing vehicles by FFG are equipped with full-size mine excavator by Pearson Engineering.

Mine-clearing tanks and mine blades were ordered by the German government for Ukraine.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine urgently need the means to break through minefields.

The new package also includes 2,380 155-millimeter artillery shells (2,910 in total), two truck tractor trains 8×8 HX81, and semi-trailers (81 and 76 in total, respectively).

In addition, the package also contains 2,428 crypto phones (2,667 in total), five All Terrain Tracked Carrier Warthog Ambulances (10 in total), nine more vehicles (trucks, vans, all-terrain vehicles), and two ambulances.

MAN HX81 tank transporter of the Armed Forces of Germany. Photos from open sources

As previously reported, Germany will send two more IRIS-T air defense systems to Ukraine by the end of the year.

Germany’s support for Ukraine is largely focused on air defense, including the supply of Gepard, IRIS-T, and Patriot systems.

The Russian military lost a new Plastun-SN light-tracked armored vehicle on the territory of Ukraine.

Photos of the destroyed vehicle were shown by the Russian 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division, but soon after they were removed.

The crawler rover Plastun-SN was destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Russian military acquired the first batch of these vehicles just recently, in October 2023.

The Plastun-SN light-tracked armored vehicles were designed for the Russian army as a means of evacuation.

Russian Plastun-SN light tracked armored vehicles destroyed on the territory of Ukraine. November 2023. Photo: Russian 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division

The rover is a novelty: it was presented only this year. The run-in took place at the NAMI test center.

The light-tracked armored vehicles have combined Br3 class (9mm) and Br4 (5.45mm and 7.62mm) protection.

The all-terrain vehicle lacks a hardtop to allow quick entry/exit or evacuation of wounded.

Plastun-SN. Photo: Russian All-terrain Vehicles Plastun

According to the developers, the weight of the Plastun-SN vehicle is 3.8 tons, and the width of the all-season track is 50 cm. The rover reaches speeds of up to 50 km/h.

It is assumed that these all-terrain vehicles will be used as evacuation vehicles, but they can also be used for reconnaissance or as a platform for an 82-mm mortar.

Plastun in the mortar version. 2023. Russia. Photo: Russian All-terrain Vehicles Plastun

At the Army-2023 forum, the rover was shown to the military as a mobile 82mm mortar, as well as in a reconnaissance configuration with a telescopic mast equipped with surveillance tools.

Plastun in the reconnaissance version. 2023. Russia. Photo: Russian All-terrain Vehicles Plastun

Recall that the Ukrainian military also uses tracked all-terrain vehicles. In June, Militarny reported on the transfer of the Bandvagn 206 batch from Germany.

Ukraine is looking for opportunities to modernize the F-16 fighter jets planned for transfer.

MP Oleksandra Ustinova shared this in an interview with the European Pravda.

Ustinova noted that Ukrainian representatives, including the Ministry of Defense, are actively discussing with international partners the modernization of fighter jets planned for transfer.

“We are negotiating the modernization of the F-16s that we were promised to receive. Because we need more powerful radars and better missiles for them. It makes no sense to just give us an aircraft with a 60-kilometer radar, like MiGs have,” the MP said.

The onboard radar of an F-16 fighter jet. Photo from open sources.

She emphasized that only modernized aircraft will be able to counter Russian aviation on the front line and influence the course of hostilities.

“This is the only way we will be able to detect their planes, which are throwing 500-kilogram bombs at our guys on the front line. At the moment, they’re flying a plane, launching a guided bomb, and we don’t see it,” she says.

The MP did not provide immediate details of the negotiations with the partners. However, it is clear that the aircraft’s modernization will require cooperation with the American industry.

According to Ustinova, the new fighter jets can be expected at best by the end of spring. This is due to the long training period for pilots, most of whom will be ready in the first half of 2024.

Theoretically, the time spent on pilot training should be enough to modernize some of the aircraft scheduled for transfer to Ukraine.

F-16s for Ukraine

As part of the military aid, Ukraine is to receive from its European partners F-16 Block 20 MLU fighter jets, which were modernized under the Mid-Life Update program in the early 2000s.

However, the general condition of European fighter jets amid other modernizations is not very consistent with current requirements.

F-16 fighter jets of the Netherlands Air Force in Romania, November 2023. Frame from Valahia News video

Modernization with the installation of a modern AN/APG-83 active electronically scanned array fire control radar may be a promising option for Ukrainian F-16s. The new radar will increase the range of target detection and provide a higher probability of detecting low-altitude and small-sized objects.

The new modernization should, in particular, also include adaptation for the use of American JASSM cruise missiles, more advanced short-range AIM-9X air-to-air missiles, and new American medium-range AIM-120D air-to-air missiles with a range of more than a hundred kilometers.

More on the advanced weapons for the F-16 can be found in the article “Weapons for F-16: What Bombs and Missiles Ukraine Will Need“

The Bulgarian parliament ratified an agreement between the Bulgarian Interior Ministry and the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on the transfer of 100 armored personnel carriers.

The armored personnel carriers will be transferred from the stocks of the Bulgarian police.

52 MPs from the coalition parties GERB-SDS, We Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, and the There Is Such a People party supported the decision.

The socialists and representatives of the Revival party were against it.

According to the agreement, Bulgaria will supply Ukraine with armored personnel carriers with existing weapons, along with spare parts for its maintenance, which are no longer needed by the Bulgarian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

BTR-60PB-MD1 armored personnel carrier on parade in Bulgaria. 2006. Photo by Kiril Kapustin

The vehicles to be transferred to Ukraine were purchased decades ago.

At the same time, the Bulgarian Interior Ministry does not want to spend money on their storage and maintenance.

“Ukrainians will make sure that this equipment is useful to them,” the Bulgarian MP said.

In addition, the agreement between the ministries came after the Bulgarian parliament approved additional military and technical assistance for Ukraine in July 2023.

BTR-60PB-MD1 armored personnel carrier in Bulgaria. Photo from open sources

Besides, in September, the US Department of State approved the possible sale of Stryker armored vehicles to Bulgaria.

The deal involves the supply of 183 Stryker vehicles for various purposes to the Bulgarian Armed Forces.

Stryker armored personnel carrier during maintenance. Photo credits: US Army

The Bulgarian government also plans to create a maintenance center for American Stryker armored vehicles.

As a result of a successful operation in cyberspace, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine retrieved a large amount of classified information from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency.

The press service of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported on this.

As a result of hacking and penetration into enemy data systems, DIU specialists obtained a large volume of classified official documents of the Federal Air Transport Agency, a structural unit of the Russian Ministry of Transport.

This Russian ministry is responsible for flight safety and records all emergency cases related to the use of Russian aviation.

In the obtained classified documents, the intelligence officers discovered an archive of the Federal Air Transport Agency’s daily reports from all over Russia for more than a year and a half.

Analysis of the documentation reveals that the civil aviation sector in Russia is on the verge of collapse.

Some details taken from leaked documents include the following:

1. In January 2023, 185 air accidents were recorded in Russian civil aviation. About a third of them were classified as incidents of varying levels of danger. The leader in this area was the Russian short-haul jet “Sukhoi Superjet,” with 34 problematic cases.
2. In the first nine months of 2023, 150 cases of aircraft malfunctions were documented in Russia. In the same period in 2022, 50 such incidents were recorded. Thus, the increase in flight hazards in Russia has tripled.
3. The most problematic areas of Russian aviation remain engines and landing gear, along with other important elements such as hydraulic systems, flaps, and software.
4. Russia has serious difficulties with the maintenance of high-flying aircraft. Due to the lack of capacity and specialists, Moscow is trying to redirect aircraft maintenance to Iran, where the relevant work is carried out “on a handicraft basis” without appropriate certification.
5. As of March 2022, Russia had about 820 foreign-made civilian aircraft. While at that time, only up to 10% of them had undergone uncertified repairs using unauthentic spare parts, today, almost 70% of the fleet has been put through such “service.”
6. The acute shortage of spare parts has led to the so-called “aviation cannibalism” in Russia when some aircraft are dismantled to repair others. According to the available data, by mid-2023, more than 35% of aircraft in Russia have been used for “donations”.
7. Most Soviet An-2 aircraft are currently unable to get off the ground as their engines were manufactured in Poland, and their supply has been suspended due to sanctions.
8. In January 2023 alone, 19 different failures were recorded among the 220 Airbus aircraft in Russia. In particular, 17 cases of smoke were recorded in 9 aircraft used by Aeroflot.
9. Out of 230 Boeing aircraft used in Russia, 33 technical failures of various aircraft systems have been recorded.
10. Every seventh Brazilian Embraer failed to withstand the conditions of the Russian operation, and there are 21 of them in Russia.

In September 2022, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) marked Russia in red, along with Liberia and Bhutan, which indicates an extremely high risk to flight safety.

The analysis of the nature of aviation incidents from the documents obtained indicates that a number of failures, especially those related to engines, landing gear, and wing mechanization, are systemic in nature.

Photo from the site of an emergency landing of a passenger plane due to a system failure, Novosibirsk, September 12, 2023

The problems in civil aviation result from the sanctions imposed on Russia because of the war against Ukraine. The most painful for the Russian Federation was the ban on the supply of aircraft and spare parts and the complete denial of maintenance and software updates.

The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reports that the Russian government is trying to hide problems in the civil aviation sector by all means.