According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine attacked targets in Russia on Thursday night. These included an oil refinery in Yaroslavl and a military airfield in the Rostov region, Zelensky said on Thursday.
The attack on the oil refinery in Yaroslavl was carried out jointly by the Ukrainian domestic secret service SBU, special forces, military intelligence and foreign intelligence, Zelensky wrote on Telegram. The SBU was responsible for the attack on the military airfield in Rostov.
China has reacted with criticism to a new US sanctions law against Russia. After congressional approval, this will now be presented to President Donald Trump for signing and could also particularly affect China, as the country is one of the largest buyers of Russian energy.
China maintains "normal economic and trade relations with all countries in the world on the basis of equality and mutual benefit," said Guo Jiakun, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry. This cooperation is not directed against third parties. Third parties are also not allowed to interfere or exert pressure. China also rejects extraterritorial application of the law, which has neither a basis in international law nor has been approved by the UN Security Council.
Russia and Ukraine have once again attacked each other with drones and missiles, each also targeting energy infrastructure. An oil refinery in the Russian city of Yaroslavl was damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack, as the local governor Mikhail Yevrayev announced on Thursday on the short message service Telegram. A fire that was caused by this was extinguished.
Russia, for its part, shelled the energy infrastructure in the Ukrainian regions of Sumy and Odessa, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj explained on the online platform X. In total, civilian infrastructure in eight regions was damaged in the Russian attacks.
The exact extent of the damage to the refinery in Yaroslavl, which is located around 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow, was initially unclear. The plant belongs to the company Slavneft, which is jointly controlled by Rosneft and Gazprom Neft. It has a processing capacity of 300,000 barrels of crude oil per day. The facility has repeatedly been the target of Ukrainian drone attacks.
They top party lists, star in campaign videos and appear in televised debates: Russians who have fought in Ukraine and are playing a prominent role in this week's parliamentary elections. According to election authorities, almost 200 candidates served in Ukraine. The Kremlin touts them as part of Russia's "true elite" and wants to show that veterans of the four-and-a-half-year war are given a place of honor in civilian life.
But few analysts believe that most of them will ever wield real power. Rather, they believe the campaign is an attempt to lure more volunteers into the war.
The election for the State Duma - the lower house of parliament - starting on Friday is the first since the start of the war and will also take place in the territories of Ukraine conquered and illegally annexed by Russia. The Kremlin controls the election closely. He wants to underpin his portrayal of broad support for the war and give his actions the appearance of legitimacy.
Three people are injured in the port city of Odessa in Russian air strikes on Ukraine. Authorities said a 19-story residential building was hit. There is also a child among the injured. According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, buildings in the capital Kiev are being damaged by falling debris.
According to military-affiliated Telegram channels, up to six converted Zircon anti-ship missiles were used against the capital Kiev. A dpa reporter heard several heavy explosions in the city.
The US House of Representatives has passed a far-reaching sanctions package against Russia. The bill passed by a vote of 262-159 and now goes to President Donald Trump for his signature. The Senate had previously voted for the package with a large majority. The law, named after the late Senator Lindsey Graham, is considered the most significant push by the US Congress to support Ukraine since President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj recently urged its adoption.
The law aims to hit Russian government officials, banks and a shadow fleet of tankers that keeps Russian energy moving. In addition, Trump should be authorized to impose tariffs of up to 100 percent on imports from the five largest buyer countries of Russian oil or natural gas. Excluded are countries that import less than 15 percent of Russian natural gas exports and have taken significant steps to reduce these imports.
The sanctions measures are particularly aimed at preventing countries such as China and India from purchasing Russian energy. Critics, however, fear that Trump could also use the new tariff powers against allies in Europe and thus cause higher prices for US consumers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expecting new Western support packages, including anti-aircraft weapons. “We are preparing new meetings with our partners in the USA,” said the head of state in a video message. The discussions will focus on steps towards peace with war enemy Russia, the problems of the Ukrainian energy industry, food security and weapons. Discussions are also planned about the Freyja ballistic missile defense system, which is currently being developed.
Zelensky is expected to speak at the United Nations annual general debate in New York next week. The Ukrainian had already announced on Tuesday that he would meet French President Emmanuel Macron in the USA. Zelensky is also pushing for talks with US President Donald Trump in New York. It should also be about a possible partial ceasefire for attacks on energy facilities and at sea.
Germany is supporting Latvia in securing its airspace during the Latvian parliamentary elections in October. The Air Force will relocate four Eurofighters from Tactical Air Force Squadron 74 from Neuburg an der Donau to the Lielvarde military airfield in central Latvia for about a week, the Defense Ministry in Berlin announced.
Latvia will elect a new parliament on October 3rd. Against the background of repeated airspace violations by drones over the Baltic countries in recent weeks and months, the NATO country has asked allied partners for support for the safe conduct of the parliamentary elections, the ministry said.
Russia is having employees of its consulate general flown out of Germany. There is approval for a special Russian flight “in connection with the departure of the employees of the Russian Consulate General in Bonn,” said a spokesman for the Foreign Office in Berlin. The plane landed at Cologne/Bonn Airport in the morning. Aircraft registered in Russia are actually no longer allowed to fly to EU countries because of the sanctions in the context of the Ukraine war.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised Ukraine the European Union's most far-reaching support for the coming winter since the start of the Russian war of aggression. The coming winter will be the hardest for Ukraine since the start of the war, says von der Leyen in her State of the European Union speech in the EU Parliament in Strasbourg. Together with partners, the EU wants to provide humanitarian aid and strengthen Ukraine's electricity and heat supplies. In addition, Ukrainian air defense should be expanded. US Patriot defense missiles urgently need to be delivered. However, the EU, together with Ukraine, must reduce its dependence on a single supplier. To this end, a cost-effective, modular missile defense system should be developed, with the Ukrainian project “Freyja” at the center.
According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the European Union is confronted with an “openly hostile world”. A war of territorial aggression is raging on the European continent, while other conflicts have broken out nearby, said von der Leyen during her State of the Union speech in Strasbourg. In addition, a battle for industrial capacities is shaping global competition, and a battle of narratives is trying to weaken trust in Europe.
At least five people on a bus were killed in Russian drone attacks in southern Ukraine. Another seven passengers were injured, according to the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Alexander Hanscha. Hanscha said the injured would receive medical care and accused Russia of terrorism. Russian attacks were also reported again in Kyiv. Warehouses there were on fire and one person was injured.
In the Mykolaiv region, a Russian drone hit passenger train No. 122 on the Kiev-Mykolaiv route. All occupants were able to get to safety in time and there were no injuries. However, the train caught fire. According to the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense system, Russia attacked a total of 80 flying objects, more than 60 of which were neutralized. Ukraine also complains that hundreds of locomotives have been damaged or destroyed in the recent increased attacks on trains and railway systems.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine has successfully tested a new, self-developed weapon to defend against drones. During an operation at night, a hit was scored and a “Shahed” drone was destroyed, Zelensky said in his evening video speech on Tuesday. “However, some technical details still need to be refined,” he continued. “We need a little more time.” Work on further developments will continue.
According to Zelensky, 93 percent of all Russian drones were intercepted that night. "That's considerable. But of course more is needed," he said. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022, Ukraine has been increasingly developing its own drone defense technologies, focusing on interceptor missiles as an efficient and cheaper means. However, the Ukrainian armed forces have greater difficulties defending against Russian ballistic missiles. The government in Kiev has therefore asked its Western allies to supply additional interception systems.
A drone captured by NATO fighter jets over Lithuania was loaded with explosives. This was announced by Defense Minister Robertas Kaunas. The explosive device was defused by special forces, Kaunas wrote on Facebook. The drone continues to be examined and analyzed.
In Lithuania on Tuesday night, an unmanned flying object was brought down from the sky by Italian Eurofighters over a rural area near the village of Pratkunai. There were no injuries or damage. The authorities had previously alerted the population of several regions of the Baltic EU and NATO country about a possible threat from the air.
There was initially no more precise information about the origin and type of the drone that was shot down.
After intense Russian attacks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced stronger protection for the railways. “Although the Russians consider our railway one of their main goals, Ukrainian railways continue to function at a high level,” the head of state said. He thanked the railway employees for their “extremely professional and courageous work”. Logistics will be maintained despite delays and the damage caused.
Zelensky promised additional protective measures for railway facilities and also for railway border crossings. He spoke about this with Prime Minister Serhiy Koretskyj and other government representatives. “This is not an abstract question, it is about the life of Ukraine,” Zelensky emphasized. Last weekend, a Russian drone hit a locomotive at the Jahodin border station in western Ukraine. Shortly beforehand, according to Ukrainian information, a train carrying former Western government officials and diplomats passed through the station.
A man and a woman were killed in a Russian attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk. Another woman was injured, the head of the city's military administration, Vadym Lyach, said on Facebook. Three residential buildings were damaged.
The United Nations (UN) is considering moving its aid supplies in Ukraine to underground bunkers due to ongoing Russian air strikes. This year, Russian attacks have hit ten of the organization's warehouses and destroyed aid supplies worth millions of dollars, the UN coordinator for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, told the Reuters news agency in Geneva.
Among the facilities hit is a World Health Organization (WHO) main warehouse with medical supplies. The UN is also examining the purchase of armored vehicles.
