(KYIV) – Ukrainian long range drones have struck a natural gas facility more than 3,000 kilometres inside Russia, in what Kyiv claims is the longest drone strike in history, as Russian casualty figures surpassed 1.5 million, or one percent of the country’s entire population.
Ukraine’s General Staff said a strike on the Novy Urengoy gas condensate treatment plant, located 3,200 kilometres away in northwestern Siberia, was successful. It is the first time that region has been hit. Ukrainian arms manufacturer Firepoint, producer of the Flamingo missile, said its FP1 drone was used in the strike. Local residents reported the site was on fire after the attack.
The strike came as a Russian drone reportedly came close to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s aircraft as it departed Moldova for Norway on 9th September 2026. According to Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Zelensky was travelling to Oslo to attend the funeral of King Harald V when Moldovan authorities grounded his flight on Tuesday afternoon after a drone was detected. The incident prompted airspace closures, emergency alerts and NATO fighter jets to scramble. Moldova said its military had tracked the drone before it crossed into Romania. Ukrainian presidential sources subsequently described claims that Zelensky was in immediate danger as exaggerated.
In Ukraine, the past 24 hours have seen attacks across the country. Yesterday, one person was killed and nearly 20 injured. Kyiv has been under drone attack this morning, with four injured, according to Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The situation on the ground in the Donbas around Lyman remains unclear. Russian military bloggers, who are often accurate and generally frustrated with the Russian armed forces’ culture of lying about advances, report that the situation around Lyman is deteriorating with Russian forces being forced back.
They complain that false battlefield reports mean Russian units cannot call in fire support onto areas reported as being in Russian hands. The Institute for the Study of War cites one blogger arguing that “beautiful reports,” a term coined to refer to the pervasive culture of misinformation about the front lines, need to be absolutely forbidden.
More details have emerged about strikes overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday onto Novorossiysk Naval Base on Russia’s Black Sea coast. The Ukrainian Navy says it used a Neptune cruise missile to hit the Admiral Essen frigate, which is equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles. Russian officials acknowledged the attacks but did not provide any battle damage assessment.
For the second night in a row, another key Russian port was hit after Ukraine struck Makhachkala last night. The port, on the Caspian Sea, is said to be a major logistics hub through which Iran trades military equipment to Russia. Videos posted on social media purportedly show several fires burning in the city as air raid alerts sound across the region.
Ukraine’s General Staff said yesterday that since the start of the full scale invasion, Russia has now taken 1.5 million casualties, or one percent of the entire Russian population. They report 1,520 Russian casualties taken yesterday alone. Since 22nd February 2022, they say Russia has lost over 12,000 tanks, 25,000 armoured combat vehicles, a large number of jets and helicopters, half a million drones, 35 ships and boats, and two submarines.
Comparable statistics for Ukraine are hard to come by, but a January 2026 report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Ukraine has likely suffered between 500,000 and 600,000 casualties since February 2022 to December 2025, of which between 100,000 and 140,000 are thought to be killed in action.
In London, Britain’s new Defence Secretary Wes Streeting told the House of Commons that the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, facing the reality that Russian casualties surpassed 1.5 million this week, is preparing to intensify his barbaric attacks against civilian and energy targets over the coming months. Streeting said he had heard loud and clear from President Zelensky the vital importance of supporting Ukraine through this winter. He also warned MPs that support for Ukraine unites the House, adding: “Let’s not manufacture difference where it doesn’t exist. On this issue, more than any other, there is far more that unites us than divides us.”
In an odd story, a security guard at the British Embassy in Moscow has been arrested by Russian authorities on suspicion of spying on diplomats on behalf of Ukraine. Russia’s FSB, the Federal Security Service, says it detained a former British embassy guard in Moscow for allegedly collecting personal data on British diplomats, including Nigel Casey, the ambassador to Russia, on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence. The FSB claims the information gathering was part of preparations for a Ukrainian false flag operation intended to blame Russia for hostile actions against British diplomatic staff.
Footage released by the security service showed a 45 year old man identified by the name of Marat being thrown to the ground by balaclava wearing plainclothes officers in the Russian capital. The FSB said he had communicated with a man called Dmitri Karpenko, a Ukrainian blogger, feeding him detailed reports about diplomats, including their home addresses, cars, favourite restaurants and security arrangements at the embassy. Russia says the information was then handed to the SBU, the main internal security agency of the Ukrainian government. The man has been charged with high treason, which can result in lifetime imprisonment.
That news comes just after a man in Swindon, UK, has been charged with assisting Russia’s military intelligence agency. Joshua Camage, 31, has been charged under the UK’s National Security Act following an investigation by counterterrorism policing London supported by Wiltshire Police. Arrested in Swindon on 4th September 2026, he was subsequently charged with assisting a foreign intelligence service and preparing to engage in an act of sabotage. The Metropolitan Police said the case relates to alleged contact with a representative of the GRU Volunteer Corps. He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court today.
Meanwhile, reports suggest US President Donald Trump is considering expanding the role of CIA Director John Ratcliffe, potentially making him the lead envoy in negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. The Financial Times, quoting officials close to Ratcliffe, said he will play a larger role in shuttle diplomacy whilst maintaining his links to intelligence services. The White House issued a statement denying the story, calling it “totally fake news” and affirming that Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner continue to work towards a peace agreement. However, several other sources quoted in the FT report suggest this may not be the case.
President Zelensky has left Norway and arrived in Canada on 9th September 2026. The main effort is expected to focus on air defence and what Canada can support for the upcoming winter. He is expected to discuss strategic partnership, Ukrainian resilience and defensive capabilities with Mark Carney. First Lady Olena Zelenska is also scheduled to meet Canadian philanthropists supporting Ukraine. Canada has the second largest diaspora of Ukrainians or Ukrainian descent, approximately 1.4 million, and has provided $6.5 billion (approximately £5.1 billion) in support to date.
Finally, Berlin could be aiming to share information about draft age Ukrainian men in Germany with Kyiv so that Ukraine can contact them about potential military conscription. German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it was important to note this was so the Ukrainian government could contact them and update their data. He added that it was important the process of men returning to Ukraine should happen without coercion.
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