Russia’s land gains in Ukraine dwindle as its diesel reportedly goes unsold — SkimNews
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- ISW assessed that Russian forces seized 117.38 sq km in the first 10 months of 2026, just 0.38 sq km per day, compared with 5,304 sq km in 2025 and 3,604 in 2024; the 2025 figure included 473 sq km recaptured in Kursk.
- Ukraine’s General Staff estimated 381,300 Russian personnel killed or seriously wounded from Jan. 1 through Oct. 31, with October losses reaching 54,400 against Russia’s estimated recruitment capacity of 24,000-30,000 per month; Al Jazeera said it could not independently verify either side’s claims.
- Russia intensified long-range strikes targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure, sending 2,346 drones and more than 80 missiles across Ukraine in the week ending Nov. 6, including 370 drones and 76 missiles on Nov. 3; hundreds of thousands of families struggled with winter blackouts, and a Komyshuvakha strike killed at least 50.
- Ukraine resumed almost daily attacks on Russian refineries, hitting eight in seven days, including Yaroslavl on Nov. 3 and Ryazan on Nov. 5; the strikes were designed to cut Russian energy and export revenue and scupper the diesel deal.
- Trump invited Russia on Oct. 9 to sell 1.8 million tonnes of diesel to the global market by year-end, 11 days after signing the Lindsey Graham Act, which gave him power to sanction countries buying Russian oil.
- Financial Times reported that the Kremlin loaded four tankers with diesel but found no buyers willing to risk U.S. legal consequences; the Kremlin dismissed the report as fake news, while Sen. Richard Blumenthal said only Congress could make the transaction legally valid.
- Melania Trump brokered a six-day Oleshky ceasefire, described as the longest ever observed, that enabled the warring sides to evacuate 800 residents from the besieged town in Russian-occupied Ukraine.
Why it matters: ISW’s territory data and Kyiv’s casualty estimates point the same way: Russia took only 117.38 sq km through October, while Ukraine struck eight refineries in seven days. The Financial Times reported that four diesel tankers from Trump’s 1.8-million-tonne plan found no willing buyers, and Blumenthal said only Congress could legalize the exception.
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