Topic: Russia
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Russia launches 108 drones at Ukraine overnight; 85 intercepted, hits at seven locations
Russian forces attacked Ukraine overnight into September 14 with 108 strike and decoy drones launched from multiple directions, the Ukrainian Air Force Command reported. Air defence shot down or suppressed 85 of the drones as of 08:00, with hits recorded at seven locations. Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat warned that further drone strikes could follow from northern and eastern directions during the day.
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Trump urges Zelensky to halt strikes on Russian diesel infrastructure, blames them for global shortage
On 13 September 2026, visiting his Doonbeg golf club during the Irish Open in County Clare, Ireland, US President Donald Trump called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to stop striking Russian diesel fuel infrastructure, saying those attacks are causing a global diesel shortage. Trump said the deficit stems from the Russia–Ukraine war and not from US actions in the Middle East, and noted he had already discussed the issue with Zelensky. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly disagreed, and a senior European official briefed on US-mediated talks called the reasoning "absurd."
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Russian drones strike Kyiv-Warsaw train and infrastructure near Polish border, prompting Polish emergency meeting
On the morning of September 13, 2026, Russian drones struck infrastructure near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk international border crossing on the Ukraine-Poland border in Volyn Oblast, damaging a gas station, hitting a truck on the Polish side, and striking the locomotive of a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train about two kilometers from the Polish border. Poland scrambled fighter jets, issued air alerts in Lublin and Podkarpackie voivodeships, and Prime Minister Donald Tusk convened an emergency meeting at the Government Centre for Security, warning that Russian escalation could reach Polish territory in the coming weeks. No passengers or railway workers were injured in the locomotive strike after a Ukrzaliznytsia monitoring group warned the crew in advance and gave an evacuation signal roughly 15 minutes before impact.
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Kushner says most of Ukraine–Russia peace deal is ready, with territorial question the last obstacle
US special envoy Jared Kushner told the Yalta European Strategy forum in Kyiv on September 12 that most of a Ukraine–Russia peace agreement has been prepared, and that the territorial question — Ukraine's refusal to withdraw to the line Russia is demanding — is the remaining obstacle. He said he hopes to announce "next steps" in the talks within the next two weeks and expressed support for returning to a trilateral format. Kyiv has previously rejected Putin's demands that Ukrainian forces withdraw from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
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Zelensky calls on EU to strengthen sanctions on Russian business, names Fridman and Usmanov
President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union to increase sanctions pressure on Russian business and oligarchs, singling out Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov. His appeal came as Russia has launched nearly 500 strike drones at Ukraine since the morning of September 12, and as EU ambassadors have again failed to agree on extending personal sanctions ahead of a September 15 deadline.
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Budanov: new round of Ukraine–US–Russia peace talks being prepared for October
Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said on September 12 that a new round of trilateral Ukraine–US–Russia peace talks is being prepared for October. He confirmed the trilateral format but did not disclose a possible venue, and said Ukraine is preparing for an October meeting. The statement came on the sidelines of the YES conference in Kyiv.
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Explosion and fire hit Bulgarian EMCO arms depot for second time in weeks
On the night of September 12, an explosion and fire broke out at an EMCO weapons and ammunition depot near the village of Tsareva Livada in Bulgaria's Gabrovo region, the second such incident at an EMCO facility in recent weeks. Bulgarian authorities are investigating possible sabotage, with the interior minister not ruling out external interference. EMCO is owned by Bulgarian arms dealer Emilian Gebrev, whose facilities Bulgarian prosecutors have linked to attacks by Russian agents.
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France backs Slovakia's push to remove Russian oligarch Usmanov from EU sanctions list
France is pushing to remove Russian businessman Alisher Usmanov from the EU personal sanctions list, aligning with a longstanding Slovak demand. The move has caused dissatisfaction among other EU members and comes as ambassadors failed to agree on extending the sanctions regime before a September 15 deadline.
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Germany identifies two suspects in Leipzig airport drone attack, blames Russia
German investigators have named a Belarusian citizen and a Russian linked to Russian military intelligence (GRU) as the main suspects in the 4 August drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport. A drone carrying explosives hidden in a vegetable tin can landed next to a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft but failed to detonate because of a faulty detonator. On 1 September, Germany officially blamed Russia for the incident and announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn and the termination of the agreement on the "Russian House" in Berlin; Moscow responded by closing the German consulate general in St. Petersburg and Goethe cultural centers.
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Ukraine's unmanned forces claim 285 Russian shadow-fleet vessels struck in ten-week Black Sea operation
Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces Robert 'Madyar' Brovdi says his unit has struck 285 ships of Russia's 'shadow fleet' in the Black and Azov Seas over the ten weeks of operation 'МоЛоЧКа'. He reports that movement through the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait is effectively halted for shadow-fleet vessels, while the northern and northeastern Black Sea is significantly complicated for them.
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Zelensky warns of retaliation if Russia hits Ukraine's energy system, proposes 'energy ceasefire' in talks
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on September 11 that Ukraine will respond "with dignity" if Russia strikes its energy system or causes blackouts this winter, while also outlining a negotiating alternative that includes an "energy ceasefire" and unblocking the Black Sea. He spoke during a conversation with journalist Fareed Zakaria at the Yalta European Strategy 2026 meeting and in a Telegram post, calling for continued prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children held in Russia.
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Anthropic: Russia-linked hackers used Claude Code to automate cyberattacks on Ukraine and Europe
Anthropic published a report documenting how a cyber actor tracked as GTG-20006 — linked by researchers to the Russian group Midnight Blizzard — used the company's Claude Code AI tool to automate large portions of cyberattacks against Ukrainian and European government, defense and diplomatic targets. The investigation identified more than 20 organizations hit between December 2025 and August 2026, with military drone developers and their supply chains among the key themes.
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Medvedev confirms United Russia's commitment to protracted war in Ukraine
Dmitry Medvedev, head of United Russia and deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in an interview with Vedomosti published on 10 September that Russia must continue the war in Ukraine, pursue long-term militarization of society, and demand increasing economic sacrifices from Russian citizens. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) read the remarks as an official confirmation by United Russia of a protracted-war course ahead of September State Duma elections.
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Ukraine's military intelligence names 17 tankers and captains in Russian fuel-import scheme
Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) has publicly identified 17 tankers and their captains — citizens of Russia, China, and India — involved in supplying Russia with over 562,000 tonnes of gasoline and diesel fuel during July–September 2026 via transshipment through Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and South Korea.
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Ukrainian drones strike Azot chemical plant deep inside Russia
Ukrainian drones attacked the Azot branch of Uralchem in Berezniki, Perm Krai, on the morning of September 11, causing explosions, smoke and a full halt of production at Russia's largest nitrogen fertilizer facility, roughly 1,500 km from the Ukrainian border. Plant workers reported multiple blasts; the Russian Defense Ministry said drones were shot down and the Perm governor reported no casualties.
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Ukrainian drones hit Saratov oil refinery and Ozon logistics hub overnight
In the night of 10–11 September, Ukrainian drones struck the Russian city of Saratov, hitting the Rosneft-owned Saratov oil refinery and an Ozon logistics and delivery centre. Fires broke out at both sites. Saratov Oblast governor Roman Busargin reported damage to "civilian infrastructure" and the activation of emergency services; Ozon confirmed the strike, said staff were evacuated and suspended orders in the region.
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EU weighs moving frozen Russian assets to new EU-level custodian to sidestep Belgian objections
European circles are exploring transferring frozen Russian assets from Belgium's Euroclear depository to a new EU-controlled custodian, which would shift legal responsibility from Belgium to the EU as a whole and remove Belgium's objections to using the funds for Ukraine. Ukraine's Foreign and Finance ministries have already submitted concrete proposals to Brussels. The European Commission treats the idea as theoretical, with no draft legislation prepared and several technical questions — legal basis, management structure, loss coverage in case of court rulings in Russia's favor — still open.
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Ukraine's General Staff confirms strikes on Makhachkala port and Russian ships in Novorossiysk
Ukraine's General Staff confirmed that in the night of 10 September, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Makhachkala seaport in Russia's Republic of Dagestan, where a fire was recorded. The General Staff also confirmed strikes on fuel-oil storage facilities in Novorossiysk on 9 September and on at least three Russian naval vessels there, including a minesweeper, a frigate, and a large landing ship.
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Ukraine's air-defense missile stocks nearly exhausted as Russia scales up drone and ballistic missile output
Russia fired jet-powered Geran drones at Ukraine every day in August, with monthly totals rising from 350 in June to 2,800 in August, according to Ukrainian Air Force data cited by the BBC. Ukraine's stockpiles of PAC-3 interceptors for Patriot systems and AIM missiles for F-16s are nearly exhausted, and Kyiv is turning to European SAMP/T batteries and a joint European-Ukrainian project called Freyja to field cheaper, mass-produced alternatives.
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Trump–Putin call fuels peace hopes as Ukraine reports $27bn shortfall and deep drone strike hits Russia
US President Donald Trump said after a phone call with Vladimir Putin on 8 September that Putin wants a deal to end the war, raising the prospect of bilateral or trilateral leader-level meetings. US, Ukrainian and European officials publicly doubted Putin's seriousness, while Ukraine disclosed it needs an additional $27 billion to get through the year. The diplomatic activity coincided with a Ukrainian drone strike on a facility in Russia's Yamal region, described by Kyiv as its deepest inside Russia since 2022, and Russian attacks on multiple Ukrainian regions that killed at least six people.