Introducing the main events of the 1,353rd day of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Published November 8, 2025
Here’s what happened on Saturday, November 8th.
finding
Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Oleksandr Silsky said Kiev forces were stepping up attacks on Russian forces around the eastern Ukrainian town of Dobropilya to relieve pressure on the warring stronghold of Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian military carried out a long-range drone attack on a petrochemical factory in Russia’s Bashkortostan region. Kiev’s military intelligence agency said the attack on the Sterlitamak factory caused a fire in part of the facility, which produces additives for aviation fuel. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia is concentrating its troops near the city of Bovchansk in northeastern Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Ukrainian energy provider DTEK has restored power to 170,000 homes in the Dnipropetrovsk region of southeastern Ukraine after a nighttime attack on energy infrastructure by Russian drones. The company said 373 communities remain without power, but utility workers have restored power to all critical infrastructure and most residential customers. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russian troops have captured the village of Uspenivka in the Zaporizhzhya region of southeastern Ukraine. Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha in Kiev said more than 1,400 nationals from 30 African countries were fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine. He said Russia was inviting Africans to sign contracts that he described as “akin to a death sentence” and called on African governments to warn their citizens.
sanctions
The United States has granted Hungary a one-year exemption from Russian energy sanctions, the White House and Hungary announced, after President Donald Trump praised Prime Minister Viktor Orbán during a White House meeting that ironed out differences over Hungary’s use of Russian oil and gas. Trump, who has urged Europe to avoid using Russian energy to pressure Moscow to end its war with Ukraine, expressed sympathy for his ally Orbán before the announcement, saying: “We’re looking at it (sanctions waivers) because for him it’s a completely different thing to get oil and gas from other regions.” In its first long-term agreement with the United States, Greece has agreed to import 700 million cubic meters of American liquefied natural gas annually starting in 2030, aiming to replace Russian supplies to Europe. Two tankers carrying around 1.5 million barrels of Russian Urals crude oil have anchored at either end of the Suez Canal, a clear sign that the Russian government is having trouble selling oil due to Western sanctions. The Shikar and Monte 1, both loaded with oil from Russia’s Baltic Sea port of Primorye in early October, have been anchored near the canal for more than a week. Moldova’s Energy Minister Dorin Junhietu said Russian energy company Lukoil will have to cease operations in the country from November 21 due to US sanctions. Junghietu said the company, which owns gas stations and operates fuel storage facilities at the airport, will be unable to supply gasoline, diesel and kerosene.
Ukraine situation
President Zelenskiy has appointed Yuri Cherevashenko as the new commander in charge of drone air defense, which is seen as a key role in defending against Russian attacks. According to the president’s website, Cherebashenko has helped create Ukraine’s first air defense mobile brigade reaction force. He also played a role in the development of interceptor drones, which President Zelenskyy described as playing a key role in countering Russia’s intensive drone attacks. Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz said it was increasing imports of U.S. liquefied natural gas through Poland’s Oren and U.S. partners to secure supplies for the winter amid continued attacks on Russia’s energy system. Chief Executive Officer Serhiy Koretsky said in a statement that imports will amount to at least 300 million cubic meters.
regional security
The European Union has adopted stricter visa rules for Russian nationals, taking into account the “possibility of weaponization of migrants, sabotage and visa abuse”. Russian citizens will no longer be eligible for multiple entry visas and will have to apply for a new visa each time they travel to the EU. Lieutenant General Alexander Solfrank, head of Germany’s Joint Operations Command, said Russia plans to double its stockpile of artillery, missiles and ammunition by 2030 compared to 2022, despite the ongoing war in Ukraine. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has suggested a link between the recent drone incident in Belgium and the controversy over the use of frozen Russian assets held by Belgian financial institution Euroclear to finance a huge loan to Ukraine. Drone sightings over airports and military bases have been a constant problem in Belgium, causing major disruption across Europe in recent months. A British man who provided the personal information of then Defense Minister Grant Shapps to a purported Russian spy has been jailed for aiding and abetting foreign intelligence. Prosecutors said Howard Phillips provided Shapps’ home address and phone number to two people he believed were Russian agents, but were actually British undercover agents. The 66-year-old denied one charge of engaging in conduct intended to provide material assistance to a foreign intelligence agency.
Russian situation
The man, whose lawyer said he stumbled upon information about pro-Ukrainian combat units while surfing the internet on a bus, is the first known Russian to be investigated under a new law banning online searches for content deemed “extremist” by the Kremlin. Russian media reported that Sergei Barsukov, a lawyer from the Sverdlovsk region in the Ural Mountains, said he was representing 20-year-old Sergei Glukhiv, who was reported to the Federal Security Service Security Service by his internet service provider for viewing information about a unit Russia considers terrorists.
