Key developments on Nov. 8:
- Ukrainian drones hit oil refinery in Russia’s Saratov, HUR source confirms
- Ukraine to receive $6 billion in US military aid before Trump’s term begins, Pentagon confirms
- Estonia to provide Ukraine with air defense missiles for testing
- Ukraine retrieves bodies of 563 fallen soldiers
- US allows deploying its military contractors to Ukraine, Reuters reports
Ukrainian drones operated by military intelligence (HUR) attacked an oil refinery in the Russian city of Saratov on Nov. 8, a military intelligence source confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.
Earlier in the day, Saratov Oblast Governor Ruslan Busargin said that a Ukrainian drone targeted the city.
According to Busargin, air defenses downed the drone over the city and debris fell in the industrial area in the Zavodsky district. He did not report any casualties or damage.
The city hosts the Saratov Oil Refinery, formerly known as the Cracking Plant, which is part of Rosneft, the state-run oil company. The refinery is located in the city’s Zavodsky District.
The HUR source said drones hit one of the plant’s oil refineries and fuel oil tanks, and cited local media reports of multiple explosions.
Overnight, a total of 17 Ukrainian drones were “destroyed and intercepted,” according to a report by the Russian Defense Ministry. Six drones were reportedly shot down over Saratov Oblast.
Saratov is a city in southwestern Russia, located nearly 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) from the border with Ukraine.
Kateryna Hodunova
Ukraine to receive $6 billion in US military aid before Trump's term begins, Pentagon confirms
The U.S. will send Ukraine the full $6 billion in outstanding military aid before President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated on Jan. 20, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said at a briefing on Nov. 7.
Previously, Politico reported that U.S. President Joe Biden was rushing to deliver the remaining $6 billion by the end of his term out of fear that a Trump administration might halt weapons shipments to Ukraine.
Ukraine will receive $4 billion under the Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which pulls weapons from U.S. stocks, and $2 billion from the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI), Singh told reporters.
When asked if the U.S. had enough weapons stockpiled to get shipments to Ukraine before Trump’s inauguration, Singh said Washington was “confident” it could keep its commitments to Kyiv.
“So we’re always constantly backfilling and restocking our shelves. … (W)e’re committed to providing Ukraine what it needs and that includes that $4 billion in authority,” she said.
Singh also pointed out that Ukraine has many supporters both within the U.S. government and around the world.
“(I)t’s not just the United States that’s supporting Ukraine and that will continue to support Ukraine,” she said, emphasizing that Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) includes “over 50 countries.”
“And on top of that, Ukraine has bicameral and bipartisan support in Congress. So there is an administration change that’s going to happen in January, but support for Ukraine remains strong.”
Estonia to provide Ukraine with air defense missiles for testing
The Estonian arms company Frankenburg Technologies will transfer air defense missiles to Ukraine for testing, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced on Nov. 8.
Kyiv has been calling on its partners to provide additional air defense assets as Russia intensifies its strikes against cities and energy infrastructure.
The first samples for testing will be delivered in the coming months. The missiles to be trialed by Ukraine are designed to counter drones, and can shoot down targets at an altitude of up to 2 kilometers (1 mile), the ministry said.
“Our goal is to help Ukraine win this war. To do this, we offer a sample of a new low-cost missile to shoot down air targets, primarily unmanned aerial vehicles,” said Kusti Salm, CEO of Frankenburg Technologies and former Permanent Secretary of the Estonian Defense Ministry.
Salm met with Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister, Brigadier General Anatolii Klochko, and discussed the upcoming tests.
The next step is to agree on a financing format for missile production, according to the statement. If the trials are successful and the Defense Ministry and Frankenburg Technologies agree on further use of the weapons, Ukraine may also arrange the production of these missiles.
Frankenburg Technologies is a defense-industrial company founded in 2024 and headquartered in Tallinn. It currently operates in Ukraine, Latvia, and Estonia.
Kateryna Denisova
Ukraine retrieves bodies of 563 fallen soldiers
Ukraine has repatriated the bodies of 563 soldiers who died fighting against Russia, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of the Prisoners of War reported on Nov. 8.
The Geneva Conventions stipulate that those who lose their lives during war are entitled to a dignified burial. As of early March, Ukraine has identified more than 2,800 bodies and body fragments of fallen soldiers, according to Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
The bodies of 320 soldiers were recovered from Donetsk Oblast, while 89 were brought back from Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Another 154 bodies were repatriated from morgues in Russia.
“Law enforcement officials and forensic experts will identify the killed,” the headquarters wrote in a post on Telegram.
The operation to recover the fallen soldiers involved several government and military agencies, including the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Interior Ministry, the State Emergency Service, and the Armed Forces.
The headquarters also thanked the International Committee of the Red Cross for its assistance.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
US allows deploying its military contractors to Ukraine, Reuters reports
The Biden administration allowed U.S. defense contractors to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair American-supplied weapons, Reuters reported on Nov. 8, citing unnamed U.S. officials.
The “small numbers” of contractors will not participate in combat operations and will be stationed in far from the front line, one of the sources told Reuters.
Such a move comes in the final months of Joe Biden’s presidency before Donald Trump returns to the White House after the victory in the U.S. presidential election.
This policy would help the Ukrainian military maintain and repair weapons systems provided by Washington much more quickly.
Washington will also send Kyiv the full $6 billion military aid before Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, the Pentagon confirmed on Nov. 7. Politico reported that Biden was rushing to deliver the remaining funds by the end of his term out of fear that a Trump administration might halt weapons shipments to Kyiv.
Kateryna Denisova