Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv, September 17, 2025

Wednesday’s Coverage: Russia Officials — We May Have to Cut Oil Output

UPDATE 1923 GMT:

Five civilians have been murdered by a Russian airstrike on Kostiantynivka, near the frontline in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

A FAB-250 high-explosive aerial bomb was dropped on a residential area around 10 a.m.

The victims were two women, aged 62 and 65, and three men, aged 65, 67, and 74.

Four apartment buildings were damaged.

UPDATE 1913 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says forces have liberated 160 square km (62 square miles) in their “counteroffensive operation” in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Last month, Russian troops advanced 15 to 20 km (9 to 12.5 miles) toward the strategic Dobropillia–Kramatorsk highway, near the embattled city of Pokrovsk. Since last August, Ukrainian units have regained control of multiple villages in the area.

Zelensky said seven settlements have been retaken in the Dobropillia and Pokrovsk sectors during the counter-offensive.

Russian losses since the start of our counteroffensive exceed 2,500 just in the Pokrovsk direction over the past few weeks. Of those, more than 1,300 have been killed.

Almost 100 Russian soldiers have been captured, he added.

UPDATE 1902 GMT:

At a press conference alongside UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer in England, Donald Trump has declared, “[Putin] has really let me down”.

Trump said, “He’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people than he’s killing. The Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers.”

But the reality TV star again avoided any commitment to tougher sanctions on Russia, saying Europe must first cut off all Russian energy imports.

Starmer encouraged Trump, “It’s only when the President has put pressure on Putin that he’s actually shown any inclination to move.”

But Trump would not budge from his “Europe first” condition: “If the price of oil comes down, Putin is going to drop out. He’s going to have no choice. He’s going to drop out of that war.”

UPDATE 1226 GMT:

Ukraine and Poland have agreed a joint task force for unmanned systems.

Ukraine Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal announced the initiative at a press conference in Kyiv with Polish counterpart Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.

“We will integrate the latest protection technologies and launch new projects aimed at strengthening the protection of our people and our critical infrastructure,” Shmyhal said.

UPDATE 1106 GMT:

Ukrainian drones have struck another oil refinery and a petrochemical plant inside Russia.

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces reported a strike against the refinery in the Volgograd region.

The plant is the largest producer of petroleum products in Russia’s Southern Federal District. It processes 15.7 million metric tons of crude oil annually, accounting for 5.6% of the country’s total refining capacity.

Local authorities as well as a Ukrainian official confirmed an assault on Gazprom’s Neftekhim Salavat petrochemical plant in the Bashkortostan Republic.

The plant is one of Russia’s largest, around 1,300 km (800 miles) from the frontline in Ukraine.

The official in Ukraine’s state security service SBU said the UAVs hit an ELOU-AVT-4 crude oil processing unit at the center of the facility, triggering a “massive explosion”.

UPDATE 1020 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on the speech of the UK’s King Charles III at a state banquet for Donald Trump on Wednesday evening:

Zelensky posted just after signing the 100-Year Partnership Agreement with the UK, overwhelmingly passed by the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday.

UPDATE 0727 GMT:

At least three civilians have been killed and 22 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses intercepted 48 of 75 drones launched by Russia overnight. Six locations were struck by 26 UAVs.

In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a 73-year-old man was murdered and a 70-year-old woman wounded.

In the neighboring Donetsk region, two people were killed and 11 injured.

In the Poltava region in south-central Ukraine, the Russian attacked railway infrastructure and cut power temporarily in some areas. One person was injured.

Casualties were also recorded in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

UPDATE 0627 GMT:

The US and Ukraine are each investing $75 million to launch Kyiv’s reconstruction investment fund, based on American special access to mineral sites and other projects.

The International Development Finance Corporation will oversee Washington’s contribution. Kyiv will split its $75 million share between this year’s budget and next year’s, said Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev.

Companies can begin submission of projects for financing from late November.

UPDATE 0617 GMT:

Dmitry Kozak has resigned as the Kremlin’s Deputy Chief of Staff, posts the Russian news outlet RBC.

Kozak is a long-time associate of Vladimir Putin, but he has opposed the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He advised Putin of dire consequences and fierce Ukrainian resistance.

Earlier this year, the advisor presented Putin with a plan aimed at ending the invasion and initiating domestic reforms.

He was unsuccessful. Many of his responsibilities have been given to Sergey Kiriyenko, deputy head of the Presidential administration, who now oversees Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

RBC said Kozak is considering a career in business.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: President Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined the meaning of “security guarantees” for Ukraine to ensure lasting protection from Russia’s invasion.

Zelensky posted on Wednesday night that there are four elements to the international support.

First, the Ukrainian military must be bolstered in the sky, at sea, and on the ground: “Our partners now understand the scale of these needs, but the important thing is that we are on the same page, and they are ready to deliver.”

On Tuesday the first Trump Administration supplies under a new program, selling arms to NATO members who then transfer them to Ukraine, were confirmed.

Up to two $500 million shipments have been approved under the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, which aims to supply Kyiv with as much as $10 billion worth of weapons. Zelensky said he expects a commitment of $3.5 billion in weapons and materiel by October.

Officials said the packages include air defense systems and HIMARS rocket launchers.

Second, the “strength and size of the Ukrainian army itself” must be confirmed. Zelensky said financial support from partners is “crucial” to ensure the “significant funding”. He did not refer to issues with mobilization and conscription, given Ukraine’s shortage of manpower on the frontline.

Third, “Article 5–like guarantees” must be implemented. Under NATO’s Article 5, each member commits itself to the defense of another who is attacked.

Fourth, the sanctions on Russia, in case of its renewed aggression, msut be agreed. Ukraine’s reconstruction, including the use of frozen Russian assets, must be arranged.

Zelensky noted that the cost of facing the invasion is around $120 billion per year, with Ukraine covering half.

On Wednesday, Germany shifted its position to endorse the use of the Russian assets, supporting Ukraine’s day-to-day public services and governance.

In December 2022, the G7 froze approximately $300 billion in Russian Central Bank assets, with around 2/3rds held by Euroclear in Belgium. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the European Union is exploring a reparations loan to Kyiv, financed by the assets’ cash balance.

Zelensky: Ukraine Defeats Russia in Sumy, Still Face 3 Offensives

The President said Russia had pursued offensive operations in four areas this year: the Sumy region in northeast Ukraine; Novopavlivka and Zaporizhzhia in the south; and Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in the east.

“The Sumy operation has already failed – Russia suffered heavy losses, especially in manpower, and has redeployed forces to other fronts,” Zelensky explained.

While noting Moscow’s ongoing assaults in the other areas, Zelensky said:

It has lost so much manpower that it cannot deliver strong additional actions in the above mentioned directions. I believe that, as of now, they lack the strength for large-scale offensives.

The President said of Russia’s strikes on civilian targets, including energy infrastructure and railway facilities, “Their goal is to destabilize logistics and create social pressure.”

Ukraine had responded with its own strikes inside Russia, “which created a big social uproar”: “But our operations disrupted logistics, and civilians remain alive, while they simply deliberately kill people.”