(KYIV) – Ukrainian drones have struck the Saratov oil refinery and the Engels military air base in Russia’s Saratov region overnight, marking the latest in a series of deep strikes against infrastructure supporting Moscow’s war effort.
The attack damaged several residential buildings, wounding 10 people including three children, with six individuals hospitalised, according to reports from Ukrainian monitoring channels. Both facilities have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian forces, demonstrating Kyiv’s growing ability to reach deep inside Russian territory.
The strike comes as Russian forces resumed attacks on Kyiv after a three-day pause, using several types of missiles and drones. Administrative buildings, warehouses, educational facilities and residential buildings were damaged across six districts of the capital. Two people were killed and 10 others were wounded.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces used jet powered drones in the attack on Kyiv, which are more difficult to intercept. In Odesa, Russian forces struck a market, damaging infrastructure and wounding three people.
Meanwhile, Russia has deployed units of the 101st Missile Brigade, which operates the Oreshnik missile system, to Belarus. According to Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence, Moscow continues its attempts to directly draw Minsk into the war. Russia is seeking to use Belarusian territory and military resources to expand the geographical scope of its war against Ukraine. Despite Moscow’s efforts, Ukrainian intelligence currently sees no signs that Belarusian forces are preparing for an invasion. The threat from Ukraine’s northern border therefore remains minimal for now.
On the front line, the Institute for the Study of War says the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s claims that Russian forces have captured Siversk in the Donetsk region once again demonstrate what the institute described as a widespread culture of false reporting within the Russian military that is then used by the Kremlin. Ukrainian forces have provided evidence contradicting Putin’s claims of Russian advances in the Donbas region. A Kremlin linked Russian military blogger has also acknowledged that the claims were false. The Kremlin, however, continues to insist on its own portrayal of the current battlefield situation as a basis for negotiations.
On the Donetsk front, bridges in Kramatorsk have been struck with guided aerial bombs for the second day in a row. One of the bridges is located in the city centre, while another connects with the village of Yasnohirka. Only one lane of the second bridge was damaged and it remains passable for military vehicles. Russian forces are attempting to isolate Oleksandrivka while simultaneously advancing along the flanks and targeting Ukrainian logistic routes. Ukrainian forces are counterattacking with drones and infantry in an effort to prevent Russian troops from establishing positions in Donetsk, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk before winter.
Russian oil refineries and fuel terminals have become the site of mass construction of bulky anti-drone structures around fuel and lubricant storage tanks. In an attempt to protect strategic reserves from devastating attacks by Ukrainian long-range UAVs, Russia is turning storage farms into huge metal cages. The construction of massive anti-drone structures around Russian fuel storage confirms the Russian armed forces’ inability to protect strategic targets using standard air defence systems. Attempts to shield oil refineries with dirty steel canopies will only temporarily delay the consequences of systemic Ukrainian drone attacks on fuel infrastructure.
Andrew Biletskyi, the commander of the Armed Forces of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, refuted yet another high-profile claim by Russia’s top leadership regarding the alleged capture of the city of Siversk in Donetsk and did so right next to the city’s biggest church. While the Russian Federation’s military and political leadership reported yet another victory, the Ukrainian commander moved freely through the city streets, confirming the Ukrainian Defence Forces’ absolute control over the area. The visit by the corps leadership to Siversk revealed a total absence of even the slightest presence of Russian occupation forces.
In a separate operation, units of the Middle Strike Group of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces carried out a successful operation in the temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk. On the night of 7th September, operators delivered a precision strike against a large enemy field artillery depot that the Russians had set up on the grounds of a former poultry farm in the village of Toshkivka. Thanks to meticulous planning and the element of surprise, this facility, which served as a key forward supply base for units of the Russian Eighth Combined Arms Army, was reduced to ruin.
Additionally, pilots from the Signum Battalion of the Ukrainian 53rd Separate Mechanised Brigade have launched a relentless hunt for Russian logistics in the front line and rear areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The unit’s high-speed FPV and strike drones are methodically destroying the occupier’s largest exchanges, turning major routes all the way to the roads leading towards Crimea into a veritable graveyard of equipment. Hits on moving targets at high speeds demonstrate the Signum Battalion’s absolute fire control over the Russian armed forces’ key supply routes.
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