DOMINANT ANGLE
Moscow sees the Yemeni government's offensive as a military turning point, largely relayed through the belligerents' statements and linked to the security of Bab al-Mandab and oil flows.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Rachad al-Alimi announced on Sunday, October 4, the launch of military operations to retake the remaining territories, according to TASS citing the SABA agency.
- 02
Interfax reports that the Houthis claim 106 Saudi strikes in one day, targeting Sanaa, Al-Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah, and Saada.
- 03
Meduza indicates that the Houthis control the entire Yemeni coast of the Red Sea, threatening a key oil export route made more important by the Ormuz blockade.
ANALYSIS
Moscow, October 5, 2026. Russian agencies and newspapers are covering the announcement of the Yemeni offensive as an ongoing military operation, in a dispatch tone. TASS quotes, from Doha, Rashad al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Council, who orders "military operations to retake the remaining territories of the Republic" and move "from the preparation phase to the liberation phase". According to the same source, he assures that the campaign "is not a war against civilians", promises amnesty to Ansar Allah fighters who lay down their arms, and urges his troops to refrain from any revenge.
The narrative then unfolds on the Houthi side. Interfax picks up the spokesperson Yahya Saree, who claims that Saudi Arabia carried out 106 air and missile strikes in one day, on Sanaa, Al-Jawf, Taiz, Amran, Hajjah, and Saada. Vedomosti relays his claims of rocket and drone attacks on two Aramco sites, in Riyadh and Khurais, which allegedly caused large fires. RT specifies that the coalition disputes the Houthi version of the attack near Riyadh and considers it an attempt to "distract attention" from its losses, and that Saudi Aramco has not commented. TASS also reports that the Houthis claim to have forced two Saudi F-15 formations to leave the skies of Taiz.
The maritime dimension holds a central place. Meduza, citing Reuters, recalls that the Houthis now control the entire Yemeni coast of the Red Sea, which threatens a key oil export route in the Middle East, which has become crucial due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. RT details the capture of Moka, then the island of Perim in the middle of Bab al-Mandab. TASS reports an incident on Monday, October 5, near Moka, where a tanker saw several explosions nearby, with no casualties according to the UKMTO.
On the ground, Russian media note the Houthi advance towards Turbah and the Taiz-Aden road, according to Houthi-friendly media cited by RT, while Moskovski Komsomolets, citing the Israeli site Ynet, mentions a government land offensive to lift the siege of Bab al-Mandab. Meduza emphasizes that the Saudi intervention launched in 2015 has not achieved its objectives and that active fighting had almost ceased since 2022.
The human toll, the appeals of UN envoy Hans Grundberg, and Saudi budgetary aid do not appear in the articles in the corpus.
