ISW Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, November 8, 2026

Key Takeaways from the ISW: Russian milbloggers recently acknowledged Ukrainian advances east of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, possibly after months of battlefield shaping efforts similar to those which Ukrainian forces conducted in the months leading up to Operation Vivaldi in the Lyman direction. Russian milbloggers are acknowledging that these Ukrainian counterattacks in the Slovyansk and Kramatorsk directions may have cascading effects and implications for Russian efforts to seize the Fortress Belt. Ukrainian forces have evolved their tactics and operational planning throughout 2026 in ways that have likely supported recent reported Ukrainian successes east of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. Ongoing Russian efforts to use glide bomb strikes to shape the battlefield in the Donetsk Oblast Fortress Belt resulted in mass civilian casualties on October 8. European officials continue to name Russia as the party responsible for sabotage against European defense industrial enterprises involved in manufacturing and delivering weapons to Ukraine. Russian forces recently advanced in Kostyantynivka and in western Zaporizhia Oblast. Ukrainian forces struck two Russian oil refineries with a combined processing capacity of 31 million tons of oil per year on October 8. Russian forces launched 142 drones against Ukraine overnight. JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. See the original here.