September 21, 2026
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Trump presses Zelenskyy to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries ahead of New York meeting
On September 20, US President Donald Trump repeatedly pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stop Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries during a phone call, citing rising global diesel prices. The two leaders agreed to meet in New York on September 22 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, where Trump is expected to push for an energy ceasefire. On September 21, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Russia had "lost control" of its diesel industry because of the war with Ukraine and called the war "senseless and endless," while Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready for de-escalation steps only if Russia halted attacks on Ukrainian energy and critical infrastructure.
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Ukrainian drone strike halts Moscow oil refinery on day of State Duma vote
On the night of 20 September, Ukrainian forces struck the Gazpromneft-Moscow refinery in the Kapotnya district of Moscow with a combined drone and missile attack, setting both primary crude distillation units ablaze and forcing a full halt of oil processing. Ukraine's General Staff says cumulative strikes have now knocked out more than 45% of Russia's designed oil refining capacity. The attack fell on the day of Russia's State Duma election, with Moscow authorities not activating air raid sirens or SMS warnings, an omission analysts at the Institute for the Study of War linked to a priority on voter turnout over civilian safety.
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EU Coreper fails to extend Russia sanctions as Slovakia and France push to delist oligarchs
EU ambassadors meeting on 21 September failed to reach consensus on extending the bloc's individual sanctions regime against Russia, which covers roughly 3,000 individuals and entities including Vladimir Putin. Slovakia and France insisted on delisting sanctioned oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman; a compromise deal that would have extended the regime for 36 months in exchange for delisting them collapsed after Latvia blocked it. Coreper scheduled a further meeting for the morning of 22 September, hours before the midnight deadline at which the entire regime would lapse without unanimous renewal. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha publicly called any delisting unacceptable and a wrong signal to Moscow.
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Former Ukrainian prosecutor general Kravchenko fired from prosecution service after failing to return from abroad
Former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who left Ukraine on a self-arranged five-day business trip in mid-September, had not returned to work at the Office of the Prosecutor General by 14:00 on 21 September, three days after his trip officially ended. He had already been suspended by the president on 14 September and dismissed by parliament on 15 September, and on 21 September he was formally removed from the prosecution service by acting Prosecutor General Anton Kovalsky.
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Russia expanding carbon-fiber facility that could boost drone output by 78%
Russia's Alabuga-Volokno plant in Tatarstan is being expanded to produce an additional 500 tons of aerospace-grade carbon fiber per year by 2029, according to internal Rosatom documents collected by the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation. Experts cited in the documents estimate the extra carbon fiber would enable production of roughly 28,000 additional long-range strike drones per year, an estimated 78% increase over current capacity of more than 36,000 Shahed/Geran-type kamikaze drones annually. The Russian government approved Rosatom's plans in May; satellite imagery from May through August shows land being cleared and foundations prepared for the new line, scheduled for completion in 2027.