Russia will significantly increase purchases of foreign currency and gold in the period from October 7 to November 6, 2026, in an attempt to mitigate the effects of falling oil and gas export revenues. On October 5, the Russian Finance Ministry announced that the country would increase the funds allocated for the purchase of foreign currency and gold during the specified period fivefold compared to the previous month. This will lead to an increase in daily purchases by 10.2 billion rubles (about 120.4 million US dollars).
This is according to the "Institute for the Study of War" (ISW).
The Finance Ministry added that at the end of September 2026, Russia's actual oil and gas revenues were 10.04 billion rubles (about 118.5 million US dollars) below the expected baseline. The significant increase in foreign currency and gold purchases is likely aimed at devaluing the ruble to compensate for the decline in oil and gas revenues, given that Ukraine's campaign of long-range strikes on Russian oil infrastructure has severely affected these sources of revenue.
On October 5, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian oil refineries have disabled more than 51 percent of Russia's total oil processing capacity.
Since the beginning of 2024, Ukrainian forces have been systematically attacking Russian oil refineries, but since March 2026 they have intensified their campaign.
The increase in Russian purchases of foreign currency and gold is one indicator of Russia's ongoing economic problems, such as labor and fuel shortages, as well as rising inflation.
The recently intensified Russian campaign to strike bridges in major Ukrainian cities has also spread to the city of Zaporizhia. On October 6, the head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, Mykhailo Semikin, stated that Russian forces struck an unspecified bridge over the Dnieper River in the city of Zaporizhia with an unspecified aircraft, temporarily halting traffic on the bridge.
Russia has recently stepped up its long-range drone strikes on Ukrainian bridges over the Dnieper River in the city of Kiev and is likely expanding its campaign to include other major Ukrainian cities.
The city of Zaporizhia is located at the crossroads of many important Ukrainian land communication lines and serves as a key transport hub for Ukraine's military logistics in the Zaporizhia region and southern Ukraine.
The recent increased Russian strikes on bridges in Kiev and Zaporizhia are also aimed at making life difficult for the civilian population in these major cities by destroying civilian and residential infrastructure, planting of constant fear and uncertainty in everyday life and weakening of Ukraine's domestic economy.
Source: news.bg