Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Gleb Zabelin
[Regnum] Within a few days, reports of a pneumonia case in the Irkutsk region had morphed on social media into a "pneumonic plague epidemic," prompting US citizens to "evacuate Russia." Upon closer inspection, it turns out that this is indeed an epidemic of artificial origin. However, this epidemic is not a medical one, but a viral-information one.
Before we examine the mechanism of its spread and find the "test tube" from which the rumors were released, let's turn to medical facts.
On the evening of October 1, in the city of Shelekhov (Irkutsk Region), a local messenger channel reported that the district hospital's inpatient department had been closed to visitors due to a suspected infection. That night, the Ircity portal reported the death of a patient at the district hospital. That morning, Maxim Modin, head of the Shelekhov district, confirmed the quarantine, and Governor Igor Kobzev announced a suspected "especially dangerous infection."
On October 4, Rospotrebnadzor issued a detailed statement. An employee of the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute of Siberia and the Far East died in a hospital in Shelekhov.
The deceased was diagnosed with pneumonia. No microorganisms associated with the woman's professional activities were detected. No accidents involving pathogens were recorded at the institute, and the agency described the epidemiological situation as stable. The World Health Organization confirmed the Russian medical team's findings.
This is where the actual medical part of the story ends.
INCUBATION AND OUTBREAK
On October 2, unverified and unconfirmed reports circulated on Telegram that a worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute had died, in fact, from the plague.
The infection was linked to the woman's trip to Buryatia, where natural plague outbreaks allegedly exist near the Russian-Mongolian border. It was claimed that Buryat leader Alexei Tsydenov allegedly mentioned that an employee of the Irkutsk Research Institute had contracted the plague.
Russians warned about fake news from the Center for Informed Information and Communications Operations (CIPSO) about the situation in Crimea and Sevastopol.
And other “sources” claimed that the employee received it at work.
The fakes were quickly debunked. It was revealed that the source of the fake "Tsydenov statement" was a Radio Liberty publication*.
In fact, on October 2, the head of the Republic of Buryatia, Alexei Tsydenov, clarified, based on epidemiological data, that there are no plague outbreaks in the region, including in areas bordering Mongolia.
Tsydenov also wrote on his channel on "Max" that the deceased resident of the city of Shelekhov in the Irkutsk region did not come to Buryatia.
The Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute denied the claim that their employee died due to a "broken test tube." A statement from Rospotrebnadzor was later released.
THE MAIN SOURCE OF INFECTION
It quickly became clear that a screenshot from a "local plague chat message," undated and without the name of the "chat," had appeared on the Ukrainian resource Focus.ua on the first day of the "epidemic."
Then, on October 2, the Kyiv-based UNIAN news agency** reported that "a plague outbreak has begun in Russia," and recounted the story of a "leak from a laboratory test tube" as an established fact. Within hours, the quarantine at one hospital escalated into a politically charged picture of an emerging epidemic.
Social media began to spread rumors, purportedly from local residents, about "the authorities hiding something." For example, a message from October 5th was reposted, purporting to come from a certain Olenka: "I work as an elementary school teacher in Irkutsk. Mask requirements are being introduced on Wednesday. The city is being locked down, we're holding on." Olenka turned out to be a Ukrainian patriot, although she has been living in Gdansk, Poland, since 2022.
The "Irkutsk teacher" turned out to be a Ukrainian living in Poland.
By the beginning of the following week, materials purporting to be "objective and impartial" began appearing online. The BBC Russian Service**—including via TikTok—disseminated a commentary by science journalist Irina Yakutenko (who emigrated from Russia to Germany), in which she "simply explains" how the plague bacillus spreads.
It didn't look like an outright fake from an "Irkutsk teacher from Gdansk," but rather like a solid comment from an authorized source.
The BBC video was reposted by the Russian-language Telegram channel "Politics of the Country," which belongs to the Ukrainian online publication "Strana," which positions itself as independent. The Kyiv-based publication added a commentary to the video, presenting the rumors as confirmed information. To avoid the impression that the report was a digest of fake news, the Kyiv-based "Strana" acknowledged that the reports of the woman's death at work had not been officially confirmed.
And then the emphasis was placed on the fact that the European Union authorities, the US State Department, and Donald Trump personally, although they did not make any definitive statements about the “plague outbreak in Russia,” are “closely monitoring” the situation.
TO THE LEVEL OF A PANDEMIC
The Wall Street Journal published an article reporting that the United States, represented by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had "increased pressure" on Russia over the "mysterious" death of an anti-plague institute employee. According to the WSJ, Moscow had not provided Washington with sufficient information regarding the death.
A reprint of this Wall Street Journal article made its way onto Russian-language social media thanks to a post on a Telegram channel belonging to the Ostorozhno Media holding (owned by journalist and presenter Ksenia Sobchak). The same post stated that " the US Embassy in Russia warned its citizens of the threat of plague and urged them to leave the Russian Federation immediately."
Another publication on the same channel stated: “Diplomats reported that they are monitoring reports of a possible case of pneumonic plague, a human death, and the introduction of quarantine measures in Irkutsk.”
In fact, in the case of the "US Embassy warning calling for immediate evacuation," we are dealing with yet another form of fake news—a half-truth.
A message dated October 6 actually appeared on the website of the US Embassy in Moscow and American consulates in Russia.
But a simple translation of this message makes it clear: it states that American diplomatic missions are aware of media reports of a suspected case of pneumonia, which (according to media reports) could be related to the plague. US citizens are instructed to obey the instructions of local authorities. There are no calls to leave the country immediately.
The US Embassy reiterated its standard advice against visiting Russia, which was approved back in 2022 in connection with the start of the Second World War and is repeated periodically.
But on the evening of that same October 6, the Ukrainian portal INSIDER.ua reported that the embassy had issued a warning "in connection with reports of plague" and urged citizens to leave Russia immediately. This publication, now without a link to the Kyiv website, began to spread across Russian-language and Russian-language blogs, spreading panic.
The goal is clear: the terrifying story enters the public consciousness, and widespread anxiety calls for the government to answer. Providing such a response requires an analysis of the situation, which takes time. But a delay can easily be interpreted as a cover-up—and that's not far from hysteria, since they're probably "hiding it."
As a result, history, having entered the international arena, returns as a political weapon.
SIMILAR ANAMNESIS
This isn't the first time contagious—that is, particularly infectious—panic rumors have spread. Previously, the internet was similarly infected with rumors about an allegedly imminent new wave of mobilization, complete with "precise dates" and "a million conscripts."
The first falsehoods surfaced back in 2023. This year, the outbreaks of fake news became more frequent—mass conscription for the Second Military Military Service was "scheduled" for the spring, then the fall, then the post-election period. The dates changed, the numbers grew, "documents," "insider information," and statements from foreign politicians appeared.
But it wasn't just traditional rumor-mongering—digital technology came into play.
On May 22, a fake video appeared on the RuNet using the image of Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. The deepfake claimed he proposed "conducting mobilization" and "postponing the State Duma elections."
Ten days later, the story became even more convincing: on June 1, a post appeared on the real Telegram channel of State Duma deputy and Lieutenant General Andrei Gurulev, stating that large-scale mobilization would begin in the fall, and that "a fundamental decision had already been made."
But by that time, Gurulev’s channel had long been hacked.
Against this backdrop, the forged orders for the alleged purchase of 150,000 minibuses for transporting mobilized troops looked like a classic example of the genre. Just as the line at Verkhniy Lars was declared to be a sign of Russians fleeing the upcoming draft, even though more people entered Russia through this border crossing that day than left.
What happened next is what we've seen with the "plague" story: the theme was picked up in Kyiv, and then by the media and politicians in the West. Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke of mobilization in Russia —the head of the Kyiv regime, in his public "forecasts," went as far as to estimate hundreds of thousands of new mobilizations.
On July 9, Czech President Petr Pavel "allowed" that Vladimir Putin could declare mobilization after the parliamentary elections. Western media, citing officials and intelligence officials, also discussed this scenario.
Waves of fake news about mobilization and the plague outbreak spread almost simultaneously, following a similar pattern. Unconfirmed reports are dumped on the RuNet, then become a topic in the Western press ("in Russia they're discussing..."), then prompt a statement from a foreign politician. And the foreign official's words return to the Russian internet as external confirmation of the original rumor.
PREVENTIVE MEASURES
It's important to remember that, amid the Russian army's successes in the SVO zone, the information war is intensifying. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense makes no secret of the fact that the Special Operations Forces (SOF) include psychological operations units.
NATO military doctrine directly provides for “planning information activities to achieve a cognitive effect” on a selected audience.
The British Army formulates its mission in the same way. The adopted concept of ground forces defines the information field as a separate area of combat.
In addition to outright lying, "psychop" implies distortion of original information, concealment, or the addition of non-existent details.
Both of the stories discussed share one peculiarity: it can be difficult to identify the author of the initial leak, but the point where the message begins to change is clearly visible.
To do this, it is enough to compare three things: who reported it first, what exactly was said in the original source, and what was added during the retelling.
An assumption becomes a fact, one of the options under discussion becomes an accepted decision.
For a "psychop," that's enough. It doesn't have to convince everyone—it's enough for fear to begin to change people's behavior and force the state to respond.
Text taken from the Telegram channel of prorivists (Nikita Bystrov)
[ColonelCassad] Patriotic bloggers have once again raised the topic of divorce, blaming it all on... poverty. It turns out, according to VTsIOM, 46% of respondents cited "financial difficulties" as the reason for divorce. How financial difficulties turned into poverty isn't entirely clear, as they're far from the same thing. Financial difficulties can also occur in wealthy families. A husband didn't buy his wife the car he wanted—that's a "financial difficulty." Or the inability to afford a mortgage enslavement of 150-200 thousand a month—isn't that a "financial difficulty?" A wife's unwillingness to go to work, believing her husband should support her—is that also a "financial difficulty"? True, there are also men who believe only the wife should work... Interestingly, according to the same survey, "destructive partner behavior" is in second place, followed by "broken communication within the family," followed by "loss of family values," "incompatibility of spouses," and "unpreparedness for family life." Meanwhile, for example, only 5% of women reported assault. It's clear that bourgeois sociologists do everything possible to conceal the cause of the problem, composing their questionnaires in a convoluted, convoluted manner.
And patriotic bloggers add even more idiocy by interpreting these data in their own way. If you think about it, poverty—that is, low income that doesn't allow for the satisfaction of basic objective human needs—cannot be the cause of the increase in divorces. On the contrary, poor people in capitalist conditions band together precisely to solve material problems.
For example, two working spouses are much more likely to afford a mortgage than a single person. It's much easier for two people to bear the costs of raising a child. Conversely, divorce often worsens the financial situation of both. Running a joint household is more profitable than running a separate one. In fact, the VTsIOM data suggests a different conclusion: the number of divorces has increased due to societal changes that have deformed the human personality. And if we're talking about the cause, there's one fundamental reason: private property relations, which exist in their most developed form in capitalist society. These relations increasingly encompass relationships between people in society, even permeating relationships between men and women.
A hired worker sees nothing wrong with selling their labor power to a capitalist for wages. In fact, they're selling themselves, their lives, since working time accounts for at least half of their waking hours. Having sold one part of their life, why not sell the rest, or at least exchange it for something? Moreover, the capitalist commoner views everything through the prism of profit. This means not simply exchanging, but exchanging it profitably. "A profitable marriage," "married profitably"—these nasty formulas existed even in Soviet times, where the destructive nature of private property relations, alas, had not been eradicated.
Nowadays, women in the commoner class tend to view their attractiveness as an object of exchange for a man's ability to sell his labor at a higher price. The commoner, on the other hand, often views women's attractiveness as a commodity to be acquired. And what are commonly called feelings are often a derivative of a peculiar transaction called "marriage." However, bourgeois psychotherapists go so far as to attribute sexual attraction to a man's ability to earn money (read: sell himself profitably). In short, expecting stability and long-term viability from a deal struck between two egotists seeking personal gain is simply unwise. As soon as a marriage ceases to be beneficial for one party, that party unilaterally withdraws from the agreement.
The situation is complicated by the fact that capitalism simplifies the human personality. Intellectually highly developed people capable of conscious altruism, the key to a long and happy life together, are unfortunately few and far between. People with primitive thinking, formed in bourgeois society, are capable only of consumption, of satisfying only their own needs, and therefore are not far removed from animals. Such people simply have little interest in each other; their life together, at best, is devoted to maintaining a shared household. They are fortunate if they have the human qualities to overcome material problems together.
No "fight against poverty" will help reverse this trend. For example, in my observations, material wealth has no impact on the stability of family unions. There are numerous examples of people who are quite financially secure getting divorced. Moreover, the financial success of one spouse very often becomes the reason for divorce, at their own initiative. After all, in their eyes, the other spouse becomes "unpromising," a "loser," and they begin to believe they "deserve more." Frankly, I have never met a single, idealistic entrepreneur who was happily married. A person for whom money is the highest value is, by definition, incapable of a happy family life. Private property relations, the ideology of personal success, consumerism, and egoism are the true gravediggers of happy and long marriages.
A 15-year-old teenager survived a bear attack in the Altai region.
A bear attacked a 15-year-old teenager in the Solton District of the Altai Krai. The Biysk ambulance station reported this on October 8.
According to preliminary reports from emergency services, the incident occurred today at an apiary located approximately 20 kilometers from the regional center of Solton. A medical team was immediately dispatched to the scene.
"The teenager's condition is assessed as moderate," Karnaukhov told MAX.
According to him, the injured young man will be urgently hospitalized at a specialized medical facility in Biysk to provide all necessary assistance. This means the medics will have to travel more than 130 kilometers, including 113 kilometers along the highway between settlements.
More from regnum.ru In Mongolia, a bear entered a house, mauled a man, and injured a woman.
In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a wild bear entered a residential building overnight, mauling a man and seriously injuring his wife. This was reported on October 8 by the local channel Aist Global TV.
According to the report, the incident occurred around 1:00 AM local time in the Bayanzurkh district. The predator entered the building where a married couple lived with their livestock and attacked them. The 40-year-old man died at the scene from his injuries, and his wife was hospitalized with lacerations to her face. She reportedly survived because she managed to escape from the building. The couple also had children, but they were not home at the time of the attack.
Even more from regnum.ru A woman's body bearing signs of a bear attack was found near a highway near Tomsk.
The body of a woman, presumably attacked by a bear, was found on a highway in the Tomsk region. This was reported on October 8 by the press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation for the region.
According to the agency, the woman's body, with multiple injuries consistent with a bear attack, was discovered near the village of Lyazgino, near a highway.
Law enforcement officials have launched an investigation into the death of a resident of the Tomsk District. Investigators and forensic experts have also examined the scene and ordered a forensic examination to determine the exact cause of death.
Yet, more from regnum.ru Bears approached a restaurant in Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi.
Two bears approached a restaurant in Krasnaya Polyana, Sochi. Vacationers spotted them and filmed them. Footage of the predators spread across social media on October 8.
In the video, the couple is sitting at a table by the panoramic window when two bears calmly pass through the glass. Soon, another animal, presumably a jackal, appears in the frame.
After this, the tourists had to quickly leave the restaurant and head towards the hotel to avoid encountering bears outside. The establishment is located in the area of the Krasnaya Polyana Olympic Village, near the cable cars.
Wildlife encounters in Sochi have become more frequent recently. According to Sochi National Park, in the first five months of 2026 alone, approximately 150 brown bear encounters in populated areas and mountain resorts were recorded. This is double the number for the entire previous year.
In September, one of the predators broke into the five-star Polyana 1389 hotel. Searching for food, it entered a utility room where it unexpectedly encountered a staff member. The frightened man ran, after which the animal explored the hotel corridors and soon left the building on its own. Another bear was spotted by a group of vacationers near their cottage. The animal approached the tourists at night. The people began screaming loudly, and the predator eventually became frightened and fled.
23.30 Ukraine is responding in kind to the attacks of the Russian occupiers, in particular on data centers, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, commenting on the attack on the Yandex data center. Meanwhile, Yandex cannot confirm the possibility of restoring the data center in Sasovo. The scale of the damage is still being assessed.
21.39 Russia has changed tactics, stepping up daytime attacks on key bridges and the center of the capital. Therefore, the city authorities have called on Kyiv residents to consider alternative accommodation options for the winter period. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said this in an interview with AFP, writes France24.
Residents of the capital who have friends or relatives outside the capital should consider temporarily moving.
"Every day there are new reports of destroyed buildings, injured or dead people, as the shelling of our city intensifies. Today it is a matter of survival," the mayor explained.
21.15 The 169th training center of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was headed by Colonel Anatoliy Kulykivskyi - the former commander of the 28th separate mechanized brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign. The new chief was introduced to the personnel by the commander of the Land Forces, Brigadier General Svyatoslav Zaits. As the military notes, among the priority tasks of the new leadership are improving the quality of all areas of training of military personnel and creating an effective system of training of non-commissioned officers.
21.14 The British government announced a new package of sanctions against Russia, aimed, in particular, at the Russian financial sector and the vessels of the "shadow fleet". This was reported by the British government's press service.
20.51 The Security Service of Ukraine detained a 17-year-old resident of Kyiv region who set fire to several trucks of a local logistics company on behalf of Russian special services. According to the special service, the Russians tried to recruit another minor - a 16-year-old resident of Kyiv region - to carry out another sabotage.
Both teenagers were recruited by Russians separately through Telegram chats to seek close relationships. To do this, according to the SBU, Russian special services created fake accounts of girls the boys had met. Later, these "acquaintances" disappeared from the chats, and a man who introduced himself as an SBU officer contacted the teenagers. He stated that the girls were allegedly detained for treason, after which, under threat of liability, he forced the boys to agree to "help the investigation."
19.48 In recent days, 78 people have been killed and 215 others injured as a result of Russian strikes on Pryluky, Kramatorsk, Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called this a severe escalation and terror against the people. He announced this following a conversation with European Council President Antonio Costa.
19.34 Germany will continue its military support for Ukraine and has already begun delivering new aid. In particular, the first batch of ammunition for fighter jets designed to combat Russian jet drones has already been delivered. This was reported by the German Ministry of Defense following a telephone conversation between Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and his Ukrainian counterpart Yevgeny Khmara.
19.05 A Russian FPV drone attacked the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council building and hit the coat of arms directly. No people were injured as a result of the strike. According to the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, Mykhailo Semikin, after the building was hit, smoke appeared, but there was no fire.
18.47 In Germany, temporary protection for citizens of Ukraine has been extended until March 4, 2028. At the same time, separate conditions are provided for Ukrainians liable for military service who arrive in the European Union for the first time. As Germany4Ukraine explains, temporary protection will not be granted to persons entering the European Union from August 5, 2026, if they do not comply with the requirements of Ukrainian legislation regarding military service.
18.42 Russian aircraft began to fly to Zaporizhia. The enemy is striking bridges with KABs and drones, which is due to a change in tactics and improvement of Russian ammunition. This was reported by the acting head of Zaporizhia Mykhailo Semikin, Ukrinform reports.
18.21 Russian troops attacked the Vasylkivska community of Dnipropetrovsk region with a guided aerial bomb. Two civilian men were killed as a result of the strike. Several residential buildings were also destroyed as a result of the Russian attack. This was reported on the evening of Thursday, October 8, by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA, Oleksandr Ganzha.
18.18 President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed the head of the Chernihiv Oblast Regional Administration, Vyacheslav Chaus, to promptly assist the residents of Pryluky who were left homeless due to a Russian missile strike. The head of state wrote about this in a Telegram message.
In Prylukhy, more than a hundred residential buildings, educational institutions, kindergartens, shops, enterprises, and infrastructure that ensures life in the city were damaged.
18.01 Thousands of servicemen who previously voluntarily left military units (SZCh) returned to their units under a simplified program. Their total number is comparable to the personnel of two or three brigades. As reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, a significant part of the servicemen after their return again began to perform combat missions.
17.50 Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine struck the Omsk oil refinery in the Russian Federation. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Local residents, having heard the first sirens and explosions, have already begun to line up for fuel at gas stations.
17.36 A large-scale outage occurred in the Russian segment of the Internet on October 8. Problems simultaneously arose in the work of banks, marketplaces, online cinemas, mobile operators, media and other services. This is evidenced by data from Russian outage monitoring services Sboy.rf and Downdetector.
17.18 Units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine on October 7 and on the night of October 8, 2026, destroyed a number of important military facilities of the Russian occupiers. This was reported by the General Staff on Thursday.
16.59 In the Mykolaiv region, a Russian "Molniya" drone hit a private residential building. This was reported by the acting head of the regional military administration, Georgy Reshetilov. Two small children were injured in the attack - a three-month-old girl and a one-year-old boy.
16.44 The Ukrainian Defense Forces neutralized over a thousand Russian soldiers in the area of responsibility of the Azov group of troops (forces) in three days. Of these, 702 occupiers, according to the General Staff, were eliminated. The General Staff noted that one of the highest rates of destruction of Russian occupiers was recorded on this section of the front.
16.39 On Thursday, Ukraine's negotiating team is in Europe, and in the next two days it should be in the United States. President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists in Pryluky, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
The US "must turn up the heat" with sanctions and financial assistance, as well as provide air defense for Ukraine, the head of state believes.
16.23 An FSB agent who guided Russian missiles at air defense positions in the Odessa region was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property. The SBU exposed him in August 2025 while adjusting Russian shelling of the region.
The attacker was part of the FSB agent network, which law enforcement officers neutralized at the same time as his arrest.
16.13 The Russian strike on Kramatorsk, which killed at least 30 people and injured 18 others, will not go without a response from Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote about this on Facebook.
15.40 Ukraine is not in a diplomatic corner right now. But we need to "shut up" Russia and "close" its economy. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky to journalists in Pryluky, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
15.29 The European Commission condemned the Russian strike on civilians in Kramatorsk and stated that deliberate attacks on the population and non-military objects are war crimes. This was stated by the European Commission spokesman Christian Wiegand, the EP informs.
15.25 The Ukrainian Defense Forces have hit a rare Russian Irbis counter-battery radar station. The enemy complex was discovered by aerial reconnaissance of the 43rd separate artillery brigade named after Hetman Taras Tryasyl. The video released by the military shows the Russian complex trying to change position, but eventually coming under fire.
15.17 Moldova is ready to accept a new wave of Ukrainian refugees if Ukraine faces a difficult humanitarian situation this winter. Moldovan President Maia Sandu stated this at the Moldova Security Forum in Chisinau, Newsmaker reports.
"Since 2022, more than 1 million Ukrainians fleeing the war have arrived in Moldova, while about 100,000 have found their home here. If this winter in Ukraine is as difficult as the whole world expects, we are ready to accept as many people as safety requires," Sandu noted.
15.05 In Sumy, one person was killed and four others were injured as a result of a Russian strike. This was reported by the head of the Sumy OVA, Oleg Hrygorov, in Telegram.
According to preliminary information, the enemy used long-range rocket artillery. Four shells were fired at the city.
15.01 The death toll from the Russian attack on October 8 has increased in Kyiv. A man who was wounded during the strike on the capital died in hospital. This brings the total number of deaths in the capital to four, the Kyiv City Military Administration reported.
14.37 The European Union has decided to extend personal sanctions against individuals and organizations responsible for Russia's destabilizing actions abroad for another year - until October 9, 2027. This was reported by the press service of the Council of the EU.
14.09 The war between Russia and Ukraine has reached a "strategic stalemate" and there is no prospect of ending it through diplomacy, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Kathimerini.
13.26 In the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, the death toll from a Russian strike has risen to 30. Another 18 people were injured, the State Emergency Service reported.
Also, three people died in the villages of Bilenke, Kramatorsk community, as a result of shelling by racists.
13.08 Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat oil refining complex in the city of Salavat in the Russian Bashkortostan. A fire broke out on the territory of the enterprise, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
12.51 In the Solomyanskyi district of Kyiv on Thursday afternoon, October 8, a Russian drone hit a four-story store building. The attack killed two people and injured three others. This was reported by Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMMA). Emergency and rescue services are working at the scene of the hit. The fire in the building has been contained.
12.40 Important negotiations with partners are to take place on Thursday and Friday, which could yield concrete results for strengthening defense. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced this on Telegram.
12.25 A Russian informant in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been exposed and detained. The mobilized from the Poltava region was directing enemy fire at the positions of his assault regiment and adjacent formations of the Defense Forces. The SBU reported this.
12.07 The South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the recall of its ambassador from Ukraine. The agency reported this on Thursday.
As a reminder, South Korea considers Ukraine's apology for disclosing information about the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war "insufficient." Seoul was considering the possibility of "decisive measures" in response.
11:37 Russian aggressors attacked a bus in the city of Kramatorsk, Donetsk region. 12 people were killed and 14 others were injured, the Prosecutor General's Office reported.
11.12 As a result of the morning attack by "shaheeds" on Kyiv, one person was killed and several others were injured. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko reported this on Telegram.
Also on the right bank of the capital, there is a decrease in pressure in the water supply network due to a decrease in voltage in the power grid.
10.53 On Thursday morning, four regions of Ukraine experienced new power outages due to Russian attacks on civilian energy infrastructure. Emergency power outages are also in effect, Ukrenergo reported.
In some regions, hourly outage schedules are used throughout the day for all categories of consumers, but they have been doubled - to 3 shifts.
8.44 Russian troops attacked 26 settlements in Sumy region in the past 24 hours. Two 14-year-old boys were killed, six more people were injured and traumatized. This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine.
8.26 In Pryluky, Chernihiv region, a Russian missile strike on October 7 killed 22 people, including five children. Another 54 people were injured, including seven children, the State Emergency Service reported.
The rescue operation lasted all night. Emergency workers saved 15 people, including one child.
7.57 During the day on October 7, the Russian army lost another 1,830 soldiers in the war against Ukraine. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Thursday morning, October 8. "The total combat losses of the enemy from 02/24/22 to 10/08/26 amounted to... about 1,547,780 people," the report says.
Over the course of the day, Ukrainian forces also destroyed 3 tanks, 4 armored combat vehicles, 47 artillery systems, 2 MLRS, and 2 air defense systems.
7.38 Russian troops have launched 970 strikes on 58 settlements in Zaporizhia region in the past 24 hours. Three people were injured in the attacks on the Zaporizhia district. This was reported by Ivan Fedorov, co-chairman of the regional Defense Council, on Thursday morning, October 8.
According to him, the invaders carried out 21 airstrikes on Zaporizhia and a number of settlements in the region. Among them are Kushugum, Komyshuvakha, Novomykolaivka, Orikhiv, Vilnyanka, Preobrazhenka, and Mykilske.
3.58 The Sasta Machine Tool Plant, which is important for Russia's military-industrial complex (MIC), was hit in the Ryazan region of the Russian Federation. There is a Yandex data center next to the facility. This is reported by the monitoring channels Exilenova+ and Supernova+.
2.59 It's been almost a month since US President Donald Trump signed a sweeping sanctions bill against Russia, named after the late Lindsey Graham. Now, the bipartisan Senate leadership is urging the administration to quickly limit the flow of financial resources fueling the war in Ukraine, the Associated Press reports.
2.46 Lithuania is deploying troops to guard the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast. The decision comes amid a worsening security situation in the region and signals of a possible mobilization in Russia, Lithuanian broadcaster LRT reports.
0.59 Russian war criminals hit a 12-story building in the Desnyanskyi district of Kyiv with a drone late on the evening of October 7. Four people were injured, including children. Rescuers also managed to save 22 residents of the building, including 8 children. The State Emergency Service (SES) of Ukraine reported this on Telegram.
0.37 Moldova is withdrawing border guards from joint checkpoints located on Ukrainian territory, and is also creating protective zones on the border with Ukraine against possible drone strikes. This was stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Moldova, Daniela Misail-Nikitin, NewsMaker reports.
20:51 Artillerymen of the Vostok group strike with the Msta-B howitzer destroyed camouflaged UAV control points and a field ammunition depot of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. 20:45 During the day, in the period from 8:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 113 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles flew over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Omsk, Oryol, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Vladimir regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Crimea, and over the Black Sea.
20:01 Today in the afternoon the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continued application of strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles on Ukrainian port infrastructure and sea vessels involved in delivering military cargo to Ukraine.
As a result of strikes during sea passage, a dry cargo ship delivering cargo to the port of Chornomorsk intended for the Ukrainian Armed Forces was damaged.
19:16 Drone operators of the Varyag brigade hit strategically important facilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: buildings of the logistics center, substations of the distribution power grids, a mobile installation of the anti-aircraft missile system.
18:33 Drone operators of the Vostok group in the Zaporizhzhia region discovered the Ukrainian Armed Forces' logistics route and precision strikes destroyed enemy equipment heading toward the forward positions.
17:31 Mobile fire groups of the Vostok group in cooperation with the NRTK cover up positions and routes of movement of our units in the DPR.
16:10 FPV interceptor operators of the Zapad group destroyed enemy reconnaissance and attack UAVs rammed in the Krasnolimansk direction.
14:36 Assault groups of the 51st Guards Combined Arms Army of the Center group, supported by BPS crews continue advance in the central and northern parts of Dobropillia.
11:58 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the Special Military Operation (as of October 8, 2026)
Units of the "North" force group in the Khar'kov region continue to tighten the encirclement and expand the external control zone. Within the encirclement, fighting is underway to liberate the villages of Nikolaevka, Varvarovka, Lukashovo, Reznikovo, Lobanovka, and Nefedovka in the Khar'kov region.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces' losses in the encirclement over the past 24 hours amounted to up to 40 servicemen and a field artillery gun.
During the expansion of the external control zone, the town of Annopillya in Khar'kov Oblast was taken under control as a result of an active offensive by the group's units. Furthermore, fighting continues to establish control over the towns of Prikolotne and Kotovka in Khar'kov Oblast.
Also in the Khar'kov region, manpower and equipment of a mechanized brigade, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a territorial defense brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Chernoglazovka, Mishchenko, Dergachi, Velykyi Burluk, Artemovka, and Novyi Burluk in the Khar'kov region.
In the Sumy region, fire damage was inflicted on formations of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Kiyanitsa and Grunovka in the Sumy region and the city of Sumy.
In total, in the area of responsibility of the North group of forces, the enemy lost up to 280 servicemen, 19 vehicles, two field artillery guns and three electronic warfare stations.
Units of the "West" force grouping improved their position along the forward edge and defeated the manpower and equipment of two mechanized brigades, an assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a territorial defense brigade in the areas of the settlements of Maliyevka, Chervony Oskol in the Khar'kov region, Vovchiy Yar, Karpovka, and Raigorodok in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 210 servicemen, a British-made Snatch armored combat vehicle, a US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket system launcher, a Gvozdika self-propelled artillery unit, 12 vehicles, and an electronic warfare station.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions. They defeated formations of two mechanized brigades, a mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Krasny Molochar, Belenkoye, Kramatorsk, Gavrilovka, Nikolaevka, and Semenovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost more than 160 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, 34 cars and a counter-battery station.
Units of the Center group of forces defeated the manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and two National Guard brigades in the areas of the settlements of Stepanivka, Belozerskoye, Sergeyevka, Roganskoye, Novoyavlenka, and Kamyshevakha in the Donetsk People's Republic.
In the village of Dobropillya in the Donetsk People's Republic, assault groups of the 51st Army continued their advance in the central and northern parts of the city. Naval infantry units, advancing southwest, captured a sports complex, cleared the stadium, and cleared the remaining park area. Within 24 hours, 103 buildings were liberated, and more than 25 Ukrainian servicemen were killed.
In total, in the area of responsibility of the Center group of forces, the losses of Ukrainian armed forces amounted to 535 servicemen, four combat armored vehicles, 12 cars, a field artillery gun, and a radar station.
Units of the "East" force group continued to advance deep into the enemy's defenses. They defeated the personnel and equipment of two airborne assault brigades, two assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a naval infantry brigade near the settlements of Orestopol and Velykomykhailivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Krynovka, Mirovka, and Zalivnoye in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 295 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, nine vehicles, and two artillery pieces.
Units of the Dnipro Forces Group occupied more advantageous positions and lines. They defeated formations of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the towns of Orekhov and Preobrazhenka in the Zaporizhia region.
More than 30 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, 20 vehicles, a US-made 155mm M-777 howitzer and two electronic warfare stations were destroyed.
11:33 Russian Aerospace Forces crews covered temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Kupino and Gogino in the Khar'kov region.
09:59 Khar'kov Oblast. Units of the 128th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 44th Army Corps of the North Group of Forces liberated the village of Annopolye in the Velykoburluk district. MAP
09:02 Artillerymen of the 14th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Center group fired a precise Msta-B from a distance of 20 kilometers and destroyed a camouflaged Ukrainian Armed Forces UAV control center in Dobropillya.
08:26 During the past night, from 20:00 Moscow time on October 7 to 8:00 Moscow time on October 8, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 399 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type flew over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol, Orenburg, Penza, Rostov, Ryazan, Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Tambov, Tula, Ulyanovsk regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Crimea, the Republic of Tatarstan and over the waters of the Black Sea.
07:32 Changes on map over the past 24 hours:
Advance west of Novomarkovo (+5.2 km2)
Enemy controls the village of Kolodezi (-4.8 km2)
06:34 Drone operators of the Center group of forces destroyed a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Dnipropetrovsk direction, using an unconventional tactic – a tandem strike with drones.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
BREAKING: Israel says pilot tried to hijack flydubai flight to Tel Aviv that diverted, landed in Saudi Arabia
