Fire at the Kirishi oil refinery in Russia’s Leningrad region after a Ukrainian drone attack, September 14, 2025

Sunday’s Coverage: Kyiv’s Drones Strike More Oil Refineries Inside Russia

UPDATE 1736 GMT:

The UK Government has announced that British Typhoon fighter jets will fly air defense missions over Poland as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry operations.

The Ministry of Defence said the Typhoons will operate out of RAF Coningsby base in Lincolnshire, supported by air-to-air refuelling aicraft.

Until July, six Typhoons were based in Poland as part of air policing.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said:

These aircraft are not just a show of strength. They are vital in deterring aggression, securing NATO airspace, and protecting our national security and that of our allies….

Russia’s reckless behaviour is a direct threat to European security and a violation of international law, which is why the UK will support NATO’s efforts to bolster its eastern flank through Eastern Sentry.

UPDATE 1253 GMT:

The UK Foreign Office has summoned the Russian Ambassador over Moscow’s “unprecedented” violation of NATO airspace in Poland and Romania:

Significant and unprecedented violation of Polish and NATO airspace by Russian drones last week – followed by a further incursion into Romanian airspace on Saturday – was utterly unacceptable.

The UK stands united with Poland, Romania, Ukraine and our NATO Allies in unreservedly condemning these reckless actions.

As our continent once again faces the egregious expansion of Russia’s reckless behaviour, defence of Ukraine against Putin’s aggression is crucial to the security of the whole of Europe, including the UK.

The Foreign Office said “Russia should understand that…any further incursions will again be met with force”, and emphasized, “Russia must end its illegal war on Ukraine.”

UPDATE 1042 GMT:

At least five civilians have been killed and 43 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Air defenses downed 59 of 84 drones launched by Russia overnight. Three S-300 surface-to-air missiles and 22 drones struck 13 locations.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, two people were murdered and 20 were injured.

In the Zaporizhzhia region in the south, two civilians were slain and two more injured amid 607 strikes on 17 settlements.

In the neighboring Kherson region, one person was killed and two injured. Seven houses and civilian infrastructure were damaged.

Casualties were also record in the Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Mykolaiv regions.

UPDATE 0700 GMT:

Three Czech Mi-171S helicopters have arrived in Poland to bolster air defenses after Russia’s drone incursion into Polish airspace last Wednesday.

The Czech military said pilots will start operational patrols in the near future.

Denmark is contributing two F-16s and an anti-air warfare frigate. France is sending three Rafale warplanes, and Germany will dispatch four Eurofighters.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s latest strikes inside Russia have damaged oil refineries, a chemicals factory, and railways needed for Moscow’s 42 1/2-month full-scale invasion.

A Ukrainian military intelligence official confirmed two sabotage operations that blew up trains and sections of railways and killed three Russian national guard officers dead. In the other, tanker carriages and their fuel were demolished. A Russian official confirmed the derailment of a freight train carrying 15 fuel tankers between the villages of Stroganovo and Mshinskaya.

The Ukrainian official said, “As a result of the destruction of the railway infrastructure in these areas, the Russians will experience significant logistical difficulties.”

Ukrainian drones also struck two major refineries this weekend. The Kirishi refinery, one of Russia’s largest with output of more than 17 million tons of oil per year, was set ablaze in the Leningrad region. The Bashneft-Novoyl refinery was hit in Ufa, the capital of the Bashkortostan Republic, around 1,500 km (930 miles) from the border.

And the Metafrax Chemicals plant in the Perm Krai, more than 1,800 km (1,118 miles) from the border, was attacked on Saturday night.

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said, “The most effective sanctions – the ones that work the fastest – are the fires at Russia’s oil refineries, its terminals, oil depots. To significantly restrict Russia’s oil industry is to significantly restrict the war.”

He cited another Ukrainian strike last week, on the Primorsk oil-loading port in the Leningrad region. The port suspended operations after the attack.

“There is substantial damage; everything has been verified,” Zelensky said.