Victorious news of 642nd day of war: return of Scythian gold, attack on Smolensk plant

Scythian gold returned to Ukraine

After almost 10 years of litigation, artifacts from four Crimean museums, which were presented at the exhibition "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" in Amsterdam, have returned to Ukraine. 

This was reported by the National Museum of History of Ukraine on Facebook.

The Allard Pierson Museum has transferred them to the National Museum of History of Ukraine, where they will be stored until the de-occupation of Crimea.

According to the decree of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, the collections of Crimean museums should be transferred to the National Museum of History of Ukraine.

Guerrillas blow up Kadyrov fighters’ car near Melitopol

This was reported by the mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov.

He pointed out that over the last weekend, residents near the village of Myrne reported hearing gunfire. Subsequent investigations revealed that it was a clash between guerrilla forces and invaders.

"Afterward, the Kadyrov’s fighters were waiting for help when their Niva (the car's model - ed.) suddenly exploded," said the mayor of Melitopol. 

According to him, the car burned to the ground. The number of victims is currently being established. 

"Despite all the attempts of the occupiers to suppress or intimidate the resistance movement in the occupied territories, the elimination of the enemy has been and will continue to be systematic," emphasized Ivan Fedorov.

Over the past six weeks, the Russian army has suffered the largest losses since the beginning of the war against Ukraine

This is stated in a report by the UK Defense Ministry.

During November, losses in the Russian army, according to the Ukrainian General Staff, averaged 931 people per day.

Previously, the highest number of casualties for Russia was in March 2023, with an average of 776 casualties per day, at the height of the Russian offensive on Bakhmut.

"Although Defence Intelligence cannot verify the methodology, taken as a total including both killed and wounded, the figures are plausible," the British Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

According to British intelligence, the past six weeks have probably seen some of the highest Russian casualties of the entire war.

Ukrainian to referee Champions League match for the first time in 25 years

Photo: Getty Images

On November 29, Ukrainian Mykola Balakin will referee the Champions League group round match between Spanish Real Sociedad and Austrian Salzburg.

This is reported by the official UEFA website.

Mykola Balakin, along with Oleksandr Berkut and Dmytro Zaporozhenko, will work the Champions League match between Real Sociedad and Salzburg on November 29 in San Sebastian. Another Ukrainian, Yaroslav Kozyk, was appointed as the fourth referee, and a Pole, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, as the VAR judge.

Ukrainians will referee the Champions League match for the first time since September 1998, when Vasyl Melnychuk officiated the game between Spanish Athletic and Norwegian Rosenborg.

Mykola Balakin, 34, received FIFA referee status in 2016. He has refereed matches in the Europa League, the Conference League and World and European Championship qualifiers.

Lviv violinist wins first prize in Paris at a competition with 80-year history

This was reported by the Vere Music Fund, according to Espreso. 

Ukrainian violinist Bohdan Lutz from Lviv won First Prize at the Long-Thibaud International Violin Competition 2023, a prestigious international competition held in Paris since 1943. The violinist also received several special prizes: the Press Prize, the Audience Award, and an award from the musicians of the orchestra that accompanied the finalists.

According to the Vere Music Fund (a Ukrainian foundation that supports young talented musicians from all over Ukraine who are engaged in academic music and aspire to build an international solo career), in the final of the competition, Bohdan Lutz performed Sibelius' violin concerto in the presence of two thousand spectators in the great hall of the University of Paris II, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Republican Guard under the direction of Maestro François Boulange.

Ukrainian intelligence confirms its role in attack on Smolensk aircraft plant in Russia

On the evening of November 26, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed an alleged attack by a Ukrainian drone on the Smolensk region.

On Monday, November 27, sources in the Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate told RBC-Ukraine that the special service had attacked the Smolensk Aviation Plant in Russia with drones that night.

According to media reports, this operation was carried out by the Main Intelligence Directorate, and the target was the Smolensk Aviation Plant.

"It was a successful operation, the targets were hit," the source said.