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What the strikes of mid-November 2023 signalled
Summary
A missile attack in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and a renewed barrage on Kyiv came alongside a proposal on Ukraine's NATO path.
What did Russia's missile campaign look like on 15 November 2023? In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a Russian missile strike killed two emergency workers and injured seven others, a reminder that those responding to attacks were themselves exposed to danger in the southern campaign.
Kyiv targeted again
Four days earlier, on 11 November 2023, Russia had launched its first missile attacks against Kyiv in 52 days. Ukrainian air defences intercepted most of the ballistic missiles, and no casualties were reported. The strike ended a 52-day gap in missile attacks on the capital, while the southern oblast continued to take losses.
A proposal on NATO membership
The security debate was not limited to the battlefield. Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen put forward a proposal on 11 November 2023 under which Ukraine would join the alliance without the territories occupied by Russia. It was reported again the following day, 12 November.
Reading the moment
Taken together, the reports from these days show two parallel tracks: continuing Russian missile strikes, which hit both the capital's air defences and emergency services in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and an open discussion about how Ukraine might eventually be tied to NATO. The proposal came from a former alliance chief, not from the alliance itself.
