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Where the war stood on 7 November 2023
Summary
A look back at the days before 7 November 2023, when strikes on Odesa, Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia front followed each other in quick succession.
What did the war look like on 7 November 2023? The days leading up to that date showed pressure on several fronts, from the Black Sea coast to the south-east, and a political conversation in Europe that had become uncomfortable.
A week of strikes
On 1 November, Russia struck 118 Ukrainian towns and villages with artillery, missiles and drones over 24 hours, the most in a single day that year. More than 40 attacks were reported in Avdiivka alone.
Two days later, on 3 November, a Russian missile strike killed more than 20 Ukrainian soldiers at an awards ceremony near the front line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the incident could have been avoided, and the losses prompted anger.
Ukraine hit back on 4 November. Its forces struck the Zalyv Shipbuilding yard in Russian-occupied Kerch, Crimea, with cruise missiles, damaging the Russian corvette Askold.
Odesa under fire
On 6 November, Russian forces attacked Odesa with drones and missiles. At least eight people were injured, and infrastructure was damaged, including the Odesa Fine Arts Museum. The attack came the day before the date examined here.
A diplomatic embarrassment
The military picture was accompanied by an awkward episode in Europe. On 2 November, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was reported to have said, during a phone call, that European leaders were tired of the war and wanted to broker a deal with the Kremlin, adding that a way out was needed. She believed she was speaking with a senior African Union official. The caller was in fact one of the Russian comedians known as Vovan and Lexus.
The picture on 7 November
Taken together, these reports described a conflict in which Russia was pressing its strikes on Ukrainian communities and cities, Ukraine was reaching Russian-held Crimea, and the costs at the front were drawing public criticism. The call involving Meloni added a further note: a report of fatigue among European leaders, coming through an exchange with Russian pranksters rather than a formal channel.
