Key developments on Nov. 9-10:
- Ukrainian forces launch largest drone attack on Moscow
- Russian casualties reached record high in October, UK defense minister says
- Russia set to launch 50,000-strong offensive in Kursk Oblast, including North Koreans, NYT reports
- Trump urges Putin to avoid escalation in Ukraine, WP reports
Russian air defense shot down 70 Ukrainian drones, including 34 in Moscow Oblast, in Ukraine’s largest drone attack on the Russian capital, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on Nov. 10.
The drones entered Russian airspace between 7.00 and 10.00 a.m. Moscow time, the Defense Ministry said. Russia's air defense systems downed 34 drones over Moscow Oblast, 14 over Bryansk Oblast, seven each over Oryol and Kaluga oblasts, six over Kursk Oblast, and two over Tula Oblast.
Unverified social media accounts shared footage of drones flying over houses and subsequent damages, including a burning car. They could not be independently verified by the Kyiv Independent.
At least one person was reported injured in Moscow Oblast and Moscow’s Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said emergency services were working in the city.
Two of Moscow’s four airports, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky, ground to a halt due to the attack and threat of drones, according to Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency. Sheremetyevo International Airport was later closed, although flights have since resumed.
Russia launched its largest overnight drone attack on Ukraine on Nov. 9-10, with 145 drones entering Ukrainian airspace. Ukraine’s air defense shot down 62 drones.
An earlier Ukrainian drone attack damaged a Russian ammunition warehouse in Bryansk Oblast, according to the General Staff.
Ukraine has increased its drone attacks on Russia this year and UAVs destroyed or damaged 52,000 Russian targets last month, according to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
"Drone technology is developing rapidly, and we must be one step ahead of the enemy," the general said on Nov. 9.
In the words of a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) source that spoke to the Kyiv Independent on conditions of anonymity, an ammunition warehouse was "literally wiped off the face of the earth" in Tver Oblast last month.
This came just days after Ukraine confirmed attacks on two other arms depots, with the U.K. Defense Ministry said that the combined strikes caused "the largest loss of ammunition" in Russia during its all-out war against Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
Russian casualties reached record high in October, UK defense minister says
Russian forces in Ukraine suffered their deadliest month since the start of the full-scale invasion, the U.K.'s defense minister said in an interview published Nov. 8.
Speaking to The Telegraph, John Healey said that Moscow's troops suffered 41,980 killed and wounded during October, according to British defense intelligence figures.
This works out at an average of 1,354 every day.
British defense intelligence estimates Russia has likely suffered more than 696,000 losses since the start of the full-scale invasion, a figure in line with Ukraine's current total figure of 707,540 reported on Nov. 9.
The daily figure reported by Kyiv was 1,660, the second highest of the war.
The previous second highest was 1,630 reported on Oct. 25, which surpassed the previous record of 1,530, which was set just a week earlier.
The bloodiest day for Moscow's forces was on May 13, when they suffered a reported 1,740 casualties.
While Russian forces are suffering record losses, they're also making increasingly swift gains in the east of Ukraine.
According to a Bloomberg analysis published on Nov. 1, Ukraine has lost 1,146 square kilometers of its own territory since the launch of the Kursk Oblast incursion in early August, with the week up until Nov. 1 reported as the worst in terms of lost territory in all of 2024.
On Nov. 2, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Ukraine was facing “one of the most powerful” Russian offensives since the start of the all out war.
Over autumn, large chunks of Ukrainian territory, sometimes including entire cities, have been lost on a near-daily basis in southern Donetsk Oblast, while Russian forces have also made operationally significant gains near Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, Kupiansk, as well as on their own soil in Kursk Oblast.
Despite the grim situation, Healey told the Telegraph that Russia's momentum isn't unstoppable.
When asked if Ukraine with the support of its Western allies can win the war, he replied: "The West can and must."
Dmytro Basmat
Russia set to launch 50,000-strong offensive in Kursk Oblast, including North Koreans
Russia is preparing to launch an offensive in Kursk Oblast with a force of 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops, the New York Times reported on Nov. 10, citing U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
The attack will begin in the near future, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine launched the surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in August and is holding its positions although Russian forces have managed to reclaim around half of the territory.
Russia has amassed the 50,000 troops without pulling its soldiers out of the eastern front, according to a new U.S. assessment. The east of Ukraine remains the priority for Russia and it has made notable gains in southern Donetsk Oblast, and near Toretsk, Chasiv Yar, and Kupiansk.
Although managing to retake parts of Kursk Oblast with missile strikes and artillery fire, Russia has not yet launched a major assault there, a U.S. official told the New York Times.
The new force comes as Russia saw its heaviest losses last month and the North Korean troops could be replacing injured and killed Russian soldiers, according to some experts. U.K. Defence Staff Chief Admiral Anthony Radakin claimed Russia lost an average of 1,500 troops every day in October.
North Korean troops, who arrived in Russia last month, are likely to be directly involved in the Kursk Oblast operation. The troops have been divided into an assault unit and a support unit, according to a Ukrainian official.
They will be fighting as light infantry, leaving them vulnerable to Ukrainian artillery and drone attacks without the assistance of armored vehicles, the New York Times wrote.
Russian and North Korean soldiers are expected to take heavy losses as they battle Ukrainians in Kursk Oblast, U.S. officials believe.
North Korea has already deployed some 11,000 troops to Kursk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Nov. 4.
Clashes between the Ukrainian and North Korean soldiers are currently underway, Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Nov. 5.
North Korean troops have already suffered casualties, Zelensky confirmed on Nov. 7, without specifying the number.
Kateryna Denisova
Trump urges Putin to avoid escalation in Ukraine, WP reports
President-elect Donald Trump spoke directly with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Nov. 7, marking their first phone conversation since Trump’s election victory, sources familiar with the matter told the Washington Post.
During the call from Trump’s Florida resort, he advised Putin not to escalate the situation in Ukraine and highlighted Washington’s significant military presence in Europe, said one source familiar with the discussion. The sources requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic.
Trump and Putin discussed the importance of peace in Europe, with Trump expressing interest in continuing conversations aimed at "the resolution of Ukraine’s war soon," according to several sources.
Throughout his campaign, Trump pledged to bring an immediate end to the war in Ukraine but did not elaborate on specific plans. Privately, Trump has indicated support for a potential deal allowing Russia to retain some occupied territory. During the call, he briefly touched on the issue of land, sources said.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban claimed during a Nov. 8 interview, "Americans will quit" the Ukraine war under Trump.
This previously unreported call took place amid widespread uncertainty about Trump’s approach to realigning U.S. relationships with global allies and adversaries after his election victory on Tuesday.
On Nov. 7, Trump told NBC he had spoken with about 70 world leaders since winning the election, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, with Elon Musk joining that call.
Ukraine’s government was informed of the conversation with Putin and did not object to it, according to two sources familiar with the situation. Ukrainian officials have recognized Trump’s intention to engage with Putin on a potential diplomatic solution, the sources noted.
Trump’s initial outreach to world leaders has taken place without support from the State Department or U.S. government interpreters. The Trump transition team has not signed an agreement with the General Services Administration, a standard step in presidential transitions.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
