Ukraine is negotiating while Russia’s refineries burn

The number: 9 of 35 — major Russian refineries disrupted by Ukrainian strikes in a single week

Ukrainian strikes cut Russia’s oil refining capacity by 30%

The Kyiv Independent · 10 Nov 2026 — Citing Reuters: the hit plants process about 300,000 tons a day, against roughly 930,000 tons of total Russian capacity.

First day of Abu Dhabi talks “constructive”, says Zelenskyy

Al Jazeera · 10 Nov 2026 — Kushner and Witkoff are brokering a two-day round; Putin still wants all of Donbas, Kyiv wants the original border.

Exxon signs preliminary agreement with Venezuela

BOE Report / Reuters · 9 Nov 2026 — An MOU with PDVSA to explore upstream projects, nearly two decades after Chávez expropriated Exxon’s assets. No fields named yet.

So what: Kyiv is squeezing Russian fuel supply the same week it sits at the table. Whether that buys anything shows on Donbas, where the two positions remain far apart.

Written by my AI assistant.