(KALININGRAD) – Russia’s air force has lost ten military aircraft since 1st October 2026, including a Su-30 fighter bomber that crashed in the Chernakovski district of Kaliningrad on Russia’s Baltic Sea coast.
The crash occurred far from the frontline and is not believed to have been caused by Ukrainian action. The only videos of the incident emerged from a Russian military band attending the funeral of a comrade killed in Ukraine. A Russian military blogger lamented the state of Russian aviation following the crash.
October’s losses began with a single Mi-8 helicopter in Voronezh, followed three days later by a Su-34 and a Su-35S fighter bomber, each valued at between $80 million and $100 million (approximately £60 million to £75 million).
On 15th October, four Su-34 fighter bombers were lost at the Borisoglebsk air base in Voronezh Oblast, with two more Su-34s lost at the same base on the same day.
Despite the throttling of Starlink services to Ukrainian frontline defenders, Russia has suffered its worst seven-day period of the entire war. Ukrainian forces have advanced in some areas while Russia continues costly meatwave attacks in others.
Ukrainian drone operators report maximum connection speeds of between 130 and 161 kilometres per hour, down from over 200 kilometres per hour, severely degrading medium-range drone operations. Russian sources claim their logistics have become easier to move, particularly in the southern corridor.
The White House has blamed Elon Musk for the Starlink throttling, and no denial has been issued by Musk or the administration.
Ukrainian forces successfully targeted a large Russian UAV operator’s base in Belgorod, with footage showing a spectacular air strike by Ukraine’s armed forces.
Some 33 air defence positions have been installed around the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan, where Geran and Shahed-type strike drones are produced.
The facility, protected by some of Russia’s most advanced air defences and located at significant distance from Ukraine, was reportedly the first target Ukraine intended to strike had it received Tomahawk missiles from the United States, a request denied following President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the White House.
Bloomberg reports that Russia’s fuel exports have slumped, with diesel and gas oil shipments falling to 146,000 barrels per day in the first ten days of October, the lowest volume in Vortex data going back to at least the start of 2016. Naphtha has dropped to approximately 300,000 barrels per day.
Russian oil exports have collapsed over the past nine months. The Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s diesel deal has been characterised as a reflexive control operation designed to persuade US President Donald Trump to protect Russia’s oil industry.
Russia is sending only 40,000 tons of diesel, roughly seven per cent of one day of America’s 550,000 ton daily consumption. In the time it takes for the Russian ship to complete its three-week journey to the United States, America will have exported 4.4 million metric tons.
The collapse in Russia’s southern export traffic has hit emergency levels, with the government convening talks on bailouts to stem losses of 200 billion rubles per month (approximately $2.5 billion or £1.9 billion). The Azov Sea has effectively become a Ukrainian sea, preventing Russian ships from exporting steel, oil and grain.
Steve Witkoff, the US President’s envoy, travelled to Moscow where he praised Putin for his humanitarianism.
The visit coincided with the release of Steven Hubard, a Michigan native kidnapped in 2022 from his home in Izium, Ukraine, where he had lived since 2014. Hubard endured four years of brutal torture including electric shock, near daily beatings, starvation and isolation.
Witkoff thanked his Russian host for the release while Putin is expected to receive massive US concessions.
Russian state media has celebrated the planned division of the continent, with one commentator suggesting: “Maybe we’ll join hands and hit this Europe.” The narrative is gaining traction among Western influencers and Russian troll farms.
The foreign ministers of Iran and Russia confirmed further cooperation on financing and nuclear matters. US concessions to Russia will aid not only Putin’s war machine but also Iran and the Houthis, with the destruction of the Saudi oil industry and $300 per barrel oil as the likely next objective.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said: “The underestimated Russian impact on our societies has to do with the war in Ukraine but this is only a part of the picture. The big picture is that Russia is on the way to destabilise the entire political order of our European continent.”
He added: “They are fearing democracy. They are fearing open societies. They are fearing the success of European integration and they want to undermine this success.”
An investigation by Insider has exposed the Kremlin’s global disinformation operations, naming individuals within Putin’s presidential administration running a massive disinformation blitz both online and offline.
The team, set up in 2022 by Sergei Kiriyenko and PR specialist Ilia Gabashidzia, was tasked with promoting Russian narratives in unfriendly countries.
Operatives have painted swastikas on French cities, placed pigs’ heads at mosques and blamed rival communities, while fabricating stories about Zelensky’s yacht and Ukrainian officials’ luxury purchases. These stories were amplified by Elon Musk, JD Vance, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Candace Owens.
Slovakia will resume cooperation talks with Russia in Moscow on 26th October, focusing on oil, gas, nuclear energy and economic cooperation despite EU plans to end Russian gas imports. Putin has purchased the Slovak political class, with Prime Minister Robert Fico making multiple trips to Russia during the war.
Europe has provided 100 percent of Ukraine’s support since February 2025. Aid allocations by donor groups were cut off in January 2025. Canada and Norway are now moving up the list of top supporters.
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