Ukraine Targets Russia in Drone Assault Just Hours After U.S. Envoys Leave Kyiv – A fire broke out at one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in overnight Ukrainian drone attacks.
Key Russian assets across the country were targeted in the attacks leading into Monday, 7th September.
Tennessee Army National Guard Soldiers with Alpha Battery, 1-181st Field Artillery Regiment conduct a training exercise using the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, June 9. The unit’s annual training enhances battalion readiness, focuses on mission-essential tasks and ensures Soldiers are proficient in critical skills. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Grayson Cavaliere)
HIMARS Rocket. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
The strikes came just hours after United States envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner departed Kyiv. The two officials had held talks over the weekend with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Strikes Across Russia
Ukrainian forces struck several key locations in overnight drone attacks. These included the Rostov-on-Don airfield, the Ryazan Oil Refinery, and three Russian air defense systems.
Ryazan is located about 325 miles from the frontline, and its oil refinery is one of Russia’s largest, producing around 17 million tons of crude oil per year.
Two major crude-processing units were reportedly struck in the overnight attacks, with Ukrainian arms manufacturer Fire Point claiming that its drones struck processing units that produce more than 11 million tons of crude per year – approximately 77% of Ryazan’s full oil-processing capacity.
The airfield in Rostov-on-Don is much closer to the frontline, situated approximately 135 miles from the extent of Russian occupation in Ukraine. A fire reportedly broke out in the area as a result of the operation.
The strikes were part of a wider drone assault which saw at least 14 Russian regions targeted in addition to Russian-held locations in Crimea and over the Black and Azov Seas.
Air Defenses Targeted
Close to the aforementioned airfield, three air defense systems were struck by Ukrainian drones in the Rostov region. A Podlet radar station was damaged in the strikes, as well as two Pantsir-S1 surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery systems.
The former specializes in intercepting smaller aerial targets, such as drones and cruise missiles, while the Pantsir-S1 missiles target aircraft and helicopters, as well as UAVs.
Both Russia and Ukraine have targeted each other’s air defenses throughout the war, which is now halfway through its fifth year. Ukraine has sought air defenses from Western allies as Russia targets infrastructure across the country, with President Zelensky appealing for more supplies amid a worldwide shortage of Patriot air defense systems.
Kyiv too has attacked Russian air defenses, allowing its drones to strike critical Russian infrastructure as part of an escalated aerial campaign over the past year.
Moscow Untouched During U.S. Visit
Russia’s Ministry of Defense reported intercepting 258 Ukrainian drones overnight. However, Moscow and the surrounding regions were spared because of a three-day temporary agreement between the two warring nations not to target each other’s capitals during a weekend-long visit by U.S. officials.
Both Witkoff and Kushner met with President Putin on Saturday for more than three hours of talks. The White House said the meeting saw both sides discuss “substantive plans for next steps” towards ending the conflict, which would be announced in the “coming weeks.”
The talks were “highly useful” according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Witkoff and Kushner “outlined a number of ideas regarding possible avenues for a settlement,” Ushakov added without going into detail.
On Sunday, the pair met with President Zelensky in Kyiv. The Ukrainian President said the talks were “very substantial”, with discussions covering security and economic guarantees for Ukraine along with an additional supply of air defenses and a winter support package. However, despite a “positive assessment” of the discussions, Zelensky said it looked likely that the conflict would continue into the forthcoming winter.
Drone Assaults Set to Continue
The U.S. envoys departed Kyiv recognizing that a peace agreement was some way off until both the Russian and Ukrainian sides made “some compromises and narrow the issues between them” to end the conflict.
Over the past few months, Ukraine has targeted critical infrastructure across Russia in a multi-fold strategy to disrupt its aggressor’s war effort. Oil refineries – producing fuel which can be used by the Russian military as well as sold to trading partners – have frequently been targeted during Ukraine’s drone campaign. This impact on supply lines and Russia’s economy is being felt by its citizens, with the drone assaults extending to online retailer warehouses to disrupt everyday Russian life.
Similarly, Russia has bombarded Ukraine for the past four and a half years. On Sunday, Zelensky warned that the war is unlikely to conclude before the freezing winter. Every year since the full-scale invasion began, Russia has targeted Ukrainian energy facilities, prompting power cuts and heating failures across the country during the freezing winter months.
About the Author: Shay Bottomley
Shay Bottomley is a British journalist. He has written for the Western Standard, Business Insider, Maidenhead Advertiser, Slough Express, Windsor Express, Berkshire Live and Southend Echo.
