What Others Write About Russia – 8 November 2026

In brief

• According to TSN, on the night of 8 November Russia used three Kh-59/69 missiles and 164 Shahed drones; air defense forces shot down or neutralized 137 drones, and one person died in Odesa.
• According to Ukrainska Pravda, more than 600 thousand customers in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast were left without electricity after Russian shelling of the energy system, and hospitals switched to generators.
• According to TSN, Erdoğan, in a conversation with Trump, expressed hope for the diplomatic efforts to end the war to bear fruit, and working talks mediated by the US are to take place on 10–11 November in Abu Dhabi.
• According to Rzeczpospolita, Sergei Sokolov, editor of „Novaya Gazeta”, warns of the strengthening of dictatorship in Russia, and the newspaper's editorial office is to cease operations on 9 November under pressure from the authorities.
• According to iROZHLAS, the Czech Republic refused to play Russia in international tournaments after the court of arbitration decided on the immediate return of the Russian national team to competitions.

Polish press

The Polish Rzeczpospolita reports the statement of Sergei Sokolov, editor-in-chief of the independent Russian newspaper „Novaya Gazeta”, who warns that dictatorship is strengthening in Russia, not merely a regime based on the power of one individual. According to the daily, the editorial office of this newspaper, operating for over three decades, will cease operations on 9 November, yielding to pressure from the authorities of Vladimir Putin. (Szef „Nowej Gaziety”: inna Rosja istnieje i nie zawsze pozostaje bierna – Rzeczpospolita)

The Polish portal Bankier.pl published a report on an interview conducted by PAP with Michał Patryk Sadłowski, founder of the Centre for Research on Russian Statehood. According to his assessment, Vladimir Putin draws on imperial legacies and habits to, on the one hand, strengthen his power and, on the other, raise Russia's importance on the international stage. Bankier.pl also cites the expert thesis that the war is for Russians a painful attempt to define their own identity, not a harbinger of the state's disintegration on the model of the British Empire.

Zero.pl reports that this year there have been only two illegal border crossings on the border with the Kaliningrad Oblast, and eight were recorded in the whole of last year. According to the portal, the Gołdap and Gronowo crossings are closed, only Grzechotki and Bezledy remain open, and tourist entry into Poland is also not permitted (Ile osób nielegalnie przekracza granicę z Rosją? Najnowsze dane Straży Granicznej – Zero.pl).

Polish Rzeczpospolita reports that Russian missiles struck Kyiv and attacks on Ukraine caused fatalities and power outages. The same editorial office notes that in Kraków officers used a firearm while subduing a 23-year-old armed with a knife, and that in Israel Gadi Eisenkot is to be appointed to form a new governing coalition (Rosyjskie rakiety spadły na Kijów. W Izraelu szykuje się polityczny przełom – Rzeczpospolita).

German press

According to the German DER SPIEGEL, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has for several days been under attack from hackers, who published his personal data and that of his family on the darknet. Tajani wrote on the platform X that this exposes him and his loved ones to new threats and attempts at intimidation, and that among the attackers there is a person willing to pay for further information. He indicated Italy's support for Ukraine, invaded by Russia, as a possible reason, and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also blamed pro-Russian hackers. DER SPIEGEL, citing the Italian daily „Il Fatto Quotidiano”, reports that the group „NoName057(16)” has been offering money since 26 October for the data of 18 people it considers enemies of Russia. (Italien: Außenminister Antonio Tajani prangert Hacker-Angriffe an – DER SPIEGEL)

According to the German daily FAZ.NET (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), for 80 years Europeans have assumed they had drawn the right lessons from World War II: that Europe is to be a continent of peace and that war must never again come from Germany. This principle, as FAZ.NET reports, survived also after 1989, and World War II itself remains a point of reference in current disputes, for example when the Russian war in Ukraine is described as a war of attrition. The publisher also notes that Vladimir Putin's rhetoric revolves around not questioning the postwar order of 1945 (Deutsche Besatzung in Europa: Wir müssen die Albträume unserer Nachbarn kennen – FAZ.NET).

Czech press

According to the Czech iROZHLAS, the Czech Republic has joined European countries refusing to play Russia in international tournaments. The portal reports that the court of arbitration decided a week ago on the immediate return of the Russian national team. Sports sociologist Vojtěch Ondráček, quoted by iROZHLAS, says he expected different reactions to this return rather than the fact itself, because for months there had been talk of the possibility of readmitting Russians to hockey (Sociolog: Patří politika do sportu? Zdálo se, že ne, ale po Trumpovi a ruské invazi se to převrátilo – iROZHLAS).

According to the Czech iROZHLAS, more than 600 thousand households in Ukraine were left without electricity after nighttime Russian attacks on the energy network in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, as reported on Telegram by the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha. The portal also reports that the Russian Ministry of Defense stated the army continues attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, and hospitals are powered by generators (ONLINE: Na Ukrajině je bez proudu přes 600 000 domácností. Nemocnice jsou napájeny z generátorů – iROZHLAS).

Prasa ukraińska

Українська правда, Ukrainian news portal, reports that in the evening attack on 7 November Russian drones hit the energy infrastructure of Zhytomyr oblast, damaging a boiler house in Zhytomyr and completely destroying a substation in Ovruch. According to the head of the regional administration, Vitaliy Bunechko, three of the region's four districts were affected, and the authorities warn of a prolonged power outage in Ovruch and possible heating interruptions in some buildings in Zhytomyr. The portal notes that no information about casualties has been received so far and repair work is ongoing (Росіяни атакували енергетику Житомирщини: влада попередила про тривалу відсутність світла – Українська правда). TSN reports similarly, adding that in Ovruch the networks around the substation were also damaged, and in Zhytomyr heat supply to buildings served by the boiler house was stopped, but without giving a time for restoring power (В Овручі знищена підстанція, у Житомирі пошкоджена котельня: наслідки атаки РФ – TSN).

According to the Ukrainian portal TSN, more than 60 thousand customers in Dnipro were left without electricity after repeated Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. The Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration (OVA) reported that repair work will begin when the security situation allows, and at the time of publication the attack on the region was still ongoing. TSN also reports that residents were urged to remain in safe places until the air raid alert is lifted. (Повторні удари по енергетиці Дніпра: понад 60 тисяч споживачів без світла – TSN)

According to the Ukrainian TSN, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, during a phone call with Donald Trump, expressed hope for positive results of diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the Russian war against Ukraine. TSN reports that Erdoğan assured of Turkey's continued involvement and stressed the need for more intensive cooperation with both Kyiv and Moscow, and also called for resolving disputes between the USA and Iran through diplomatic means. According to TSN, working talks between Ukraine and Russia with US mediation are to take place on 10–11 November in Abu Dhabi. (Ердоган поговорив із Трампом про завершення війни: яку роль пропонує Туреччина – TSN) The Czech iROZHLAS, meanwhile, describes that in sport – where the Czech Republic refuses to play Russia in international tournaments – the decision to readmit the Russian team was taken in an arbitration court, which shows how politics increasingly affects sport. What connects them is that both the diplomatic attempts to end the war and the disputes over Russia's participation in international competitions unfold in the shadow of the same tensions between the West and Moscow.

The Ukrainian Espreso, backed by the Slawa.TV service, reports in an interview with analyst Marek Tot that Kirill Dmitriev, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund and Putin's chief negotiator with the Americans, is trying to convince the Trump administration to sign major economic deals with Moscow, even speaking of 14 trillion dollars in profits, which Tot assesses as an empty promise. According to Espreso, the analyst also argues that even territorial concessions by Ukraine would not give the USA the promised benefits, and that the success of the talks is hindered by the lack of diplomatic experience of Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner (Трампу не вдасться реалізувати свій задум ціною України, – Тот – Espreso). This news fits into a broader context in which the Czech iROZHLAS reports that the Czech Republic has joined countries refusing to play Russia, and an arbitration court has reinstated the Russian team in competitions, which shows how politics increasingly permeates sport.

The Ukrainian agency Ukrinform reports that in a Russian attack on Odesa one person was killed and the city's infrastructure was damaged. According to Serhiy Lysak, head of the Odesa City Military Administration, who announced this on Telegram, the city was attacked again. Ukrinform also recalls that on 2 November, in a night attack on Odesa, four people were injured. (Russian attack on Odesa kills one – Ukrinform)

Ukrainska Pravda, a Polish review of the Ukrainian press, reports that according to General Staff data, in the past day the Defense Forces neutralized about 2,290 Russian soldiers, and Russia's total personnel losses in the war are said to amount to nearly 1,606,400 people (За минулу добу росіяни втратили майже 2300 військових – Генштаб – Українська правда). The same publisher also cites equipment data: according to Ukrainska Pravda, Russia has lost in total 12,458 tanks, 25,668 armoured combat vehicles and 52,044 artillery systems, and the daily increases in these figures are 2, 14 and 44 respectively.

The Ukrainian portal NV (Polish version of context: Ukrainian press) conducted the first interview with the new commander of the Ptakhy Madiar brigade, Andriy "Klima" Klymenko, who presents himself as a Hero of Ukraine. According to NV, the interlocutor speaks about record enemy losses in October, hidden mobilization in Russia, strikes deep into the enemy's territory, and the threat to Europe. NV also reports that the unit remains heavily closed off and its members are protected from being exposed. («За каждым нашим охотятся». Герой Украины Андрей Клименко о «птахах» и Мадяре — первое интервью с новым комбригом легендарного подразделения – NV)

According to the Ukrainian publisher TSN, on the night of 8 November 2026 Russia again attacked Dnipro's energy sector, cutting power to more than 60 thousand customers, and in Ovruch a substation was destroyed, while in Zhytomyr a boiler house was damaged. TSN also reports another attack on Odesa, in which one person was killed, and about Erdoğan's talks with Trump on ending the war and the role Turkey may play. (Атака РФ на українські міста та нові заяви Трампа: головні новини ночі 8 листопада 2026 року – TSN)

The Ukrainian medium Espreso relays the statement of journalist Vitaliy Portnikov, according to whom in practice no negotiations are taking place between Ukraine and Russia, and during the war only talks about a ceasefire are possible. Portnikov, as Espreso reports, also questions the US ability to provide Ukraine with credible security guarantees and suggests that Moscow seeks contacts with Washington mainly in order to avoid new sanctions and to keep economic cooperation. Espreso also recalls that a further round of talks with US participation is planned for November in Abu Dhabi, with Medinsky to represent Russia (Портников: Маю сказати дуже важливу річ — ніяких перемовин України та Росії насправді не відбувається – Espreso).

Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian edition, citing the co-chair of the Defense Council of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ivan Fedorov, reports that over the course of a day Russia carried out more than 700 strikes on Zaporizhzhia oblast, and as a result of shelling of Zaporizhzhia one person was injured. According to these data, Russian forces struck 53 localities, including 26 air strikes, 561 drone attacks and 135 artillery strikes, and residents reported 61 cases of damage to houses, cars and infrastructure (За добу РФ завдала більше 700 ударів по Запорізькій області: одна людина постраждала – Українська правда).

According to the Ukrainian NV service, the Kremlin is to introduce a new tax on air tickets, which would finance the development of Russian civil aviation instead of the current subsidies. NV reports that the reason is the collapse of the import substitution program in this industry, deepened by sanctions, and the rapidly growing state budget deficit. (Вместо субсидий и «Антонова». Кремль введет налог на авиабилеты из-за санкций – NV)

According to the Ukrainian Espreso, Russia has serious problems with missile production, as indicated by the nature of recent attacks, claims expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap in a programme on SLAWA TV. Espreso reports that the occupiers launched as many Kh-101, Kalibr and Iskander missiles as they were able to prepare, and according to the expert this was not a matter of choice but of limits in production, logistics and launch sites, which Ukraine systematically attacks. Espreso also reports that Kryvolap assessed the development of Ukrainian production of long-range Neptune missiles as an important achievement (Росія має серйозні проблеми з виробництвом ракет, про це свідчить характер атак, — Криволап – Espreso).

Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian news medium, reports that on the morning of 8 November, due to Russian shelling of the energy system in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, more than 600 thousand customers remained without electricity. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Hanzha, the failures affected several districts of the oblast, and DTEK reported that the night attack damaged important energy facilities; hospitals and critical infrastructure facilities switched to generator power, and power engineers are working to restore supplies (Блекаут на Дніпропетровщині: світло зникло у більше 600 тисяч споживачів – Українська правда)

According to the Ukrainian NV, citing the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report of 7 November, deliveries of Western air defence, interceptors and long-range missiles remain key to weakening Russian drone and missile strikes. NV notes that even a small number of Taurus or Tomahawk missiles would make it possible to strike the plants in Alabuga and the Engels-2 air base. The portal also cites Zelensky, who called on Germany to transfer Taurus missiles to Ukraine. Taurus.

According to the Ukrainian Espreso, during Putin's talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, the Chinese side asked that the "Power of Siberia" gas pipeline project not be discussed, and China does not want to significantly increase its consumption of Russian gas, while Russia has no funds for its share of the investment. Espreso also notes that Gazprom is increasingly promoting its gas in Europe, which – in the view of blogger Viktor Shapran – results from the worsening financial condition of the company. (Газове провалля Кремля – Espreso)

Ukrainska Pravda, published in Ukraine, writes about the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne (CAS), which on 30 October ordered the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) to immediately admit Russian teams to the 2026/27 world championships. According to this publisher, the decision caused enthusiasm in Russia, but within a few days of the ruling federations, cities, sponsors and governments distanced themselves from it, and it considers the ruling itself inconsistent with earlier CAS decisions concerning Russians in curling and chess (Кордони Європи для російських спортсменів закриваються – Українська правда).

According to the Ukrainian portal TSN, citing the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report of 7 November, Russian forces continue offensive operations in Kharkiv oblast and Donbas, but no confirmed advances have been recorded in many sections of the front. TSN reports that the pace of attacks in the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration has apparently slowed, which ISW explains by a lack of personnel in the units of Russia's 3rd Combined Arms Army. (Росіяни втратили темпи наступу на кількох напрямках фронту: що з'ясували в ISW (мапа) – TSN) The Belarusian portal Zerkalo, in turn, reports a Russian attack on several Ukrainian oblasts, which fits the same picture of intense fighting at the front and deep in the country. (Россия атаковала несколько областей Украины – Zerkalo)

The Ukrainian UNIAN reports that 56-year-old Olena Pyrozhenko, a former physical education teacher evacuated from temporarily occupied Oleshky, died in Kyiv; according to the publisher, she died on 6 November, and her husband died in spring 2026. UNIAN reports that the evacuation of Oleshky residents was carried out as part of a five-day ceasefire that began on 27 October, mediated by Melania Trump, and some people are still waiting to leave for territory controlled by Ukraine (У Києві померла вчителька, евакуйована з Олешків – UNIAN).

Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian daily, citing The Washington Post, reports that Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law and special envoy, is considering the NATO-Russia Council model when planning broader arrangements on post-war security in Europe. According to the same source, European officials stress, however, that a ceasefire in Ukraine must first take place, while Donald Trump, as Ukrainska Pravda reports, announces a great deal covering Ukraine and all of Europe, which a WP columnist considers premature (WP: Кушнер хоче відродити модель Ради НАТО-Росія в рамках зусиль щодо припинення війни – Українська правда)

According to the Ukrainian TSN, on the night of 8 November Russia carried out a mass attack on Ukraine, using three X-59/69 missiles and 164 Shahed-type drones, and Odesa, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro, among others, were affected. TSN reports that air defence forces managed to shoot down or neutralize 137 drones, and hits were recorded in 23 locations, with one person killed in Odesa and five people injured or suffering stress reactions in Kharkiv and the region. (Без світла і тепла після атаки РФ: які міста постраждали та де найскладніша ситуація 8 листопада – TSN)

According to the Ukrainian portal TSN, Russians attacked Odesa twice, as a result of which one person was killed and an administrative building and an abandoned non-residential facility were damaged. Oleh Kiper, head of the Odesa Regional Military Administration, also reported that in the morning a food warehouse was hit, where a large fire broke out, and there is no information about casualties (Росіяни двічі атакували Одесу: є загиблий, пошкоджено будівлі та склад (фото) – TSN). The Belarusian portal Zerkalo, in turn, reports that Russia attacked several Ukrainian oblasts, without details of losses, which fits the same series of shelling described by Ukrainian media.

The Ukrainian Espreso describes how, according to it, Russia is building its future military resource from childhood in Crimea and occupied parts of Ukraine: drone piloting classes, cadets and "Yunarmia" are, as Espreso reports, citing the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), meant to create a long-term system for identifying technically gifted children and directing them to the Russian army's personnel reserve. Espreso also cites data from the organization "Almenda" on tens of thousands of children involved in such programmes, and information about lowering the age of criminal responsibility in Russia to 14 years. ("Призов 2035 року". Як Росія готує з наших дітей свій військовий резерв – Espreso)

According to Ukrainska Pravda, the Ukrainian daily, over the past day there were 199 shelling and combat clashes at the front, and the most Russian attacks were recorded in the Kostiantynivka direction, where 23 assaults were noted. Ukrainska Pravda also reports that in the South Sloboda direction Ukrainian units repelled eight attacks, and in the Pokrovsk direction there were nine attempted assaults, although the material does not make clear whether these figures refer only to repelled attacks or to all attacks. (За добу росіяни найбільше атакували на Костянтинівському напрямку – Генштаб – Українська правда) The Belarusian portal Zerkalo, an independent outlet, reported in parallel that Russia attacked several Ukrainian oblasts, which fits the same picture of intense fighting at the front.

According to the Ukrainian Espreso, retired US Army general Gordon Davis explained in an interview with Anton Borkowski that multinational units are already operating in the countries of NATO's eastern flank, and the Alliance's forward combat group is stationed in Estonia. As Espreso reports, in his view, in the event of a Russian attack on Estonia these forces would find themselves in the combat zone, which would trigger a reaction from the countries whose soldiers serve there, even before the formal application of Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. ("Відповідь Альянсу буде потужною": генерал США Девіс пояснив, як НАТО реагуватиме у разі нападу Росії – Espreso)

Belarusian press

According to Charter 97, a Belarusian opposition portal, Aleksander Newzorow, in his column "Pisk jurodiwogo", describes how one informer's report about pizza as a "hostile product" grew into the level of official Russian policy. The portal quotes Elena Yampolskaya, an adviser to the President of Russia, who stated that pizza should not be served in schools because it is not healthy for pupils. (Писк юродивого – Charter 97)

According to the Belarusian portal Zerkalo, Russia carried out an attack on several regions of Ukraine. Zerkalo presents this message in its world news service, without details on losses or places of impact.

According to the Belarusian portal Charter 97, political scientist Ivan Yakovina, Russia finds itself in a difficult situation: Ukrainian drones hit installations, Russian air defence is unable to stop them, refinery owners do not want to invest in repairs, and freezing weather hampers work, which may lead to a serious fuel shortage as early as December. Charter 97 also reports that Yakovina assesses that Vladimir Putin is dissatisfied and irritated, because a fuel shortage could undermine his credibility before the New Year's address. («Россия оказалась в интересной ситуации» – Charter 97)

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