An oil refinery in Ryazan in Russia burns after a Ukrainian drone strike, September 5, 2025

Friday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “Important Success” in Counter-Offensive in East

UPDATE 0622 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has commented on Russia’s overnight strikes with more than 600 drones and missiles.

At least three civilians have been murdered.

Every such strike is not a military necessity but a deliberate strategy by Russia to terrorize civilians and destroy our infrastructure. That is why a strong international response is needed.

UPDATE 0606 GMT:

Russia and Vietnam have developed a mechanism to hide payments for arms deals, circumventing US and European sanctions.

Vietnamese government documents, obtained by the Associated Press, confirmed that the two countries used profits from joint oil and gas enterprises to fund defense contracts, bypassing the global banking system.

Vietnam purchased fighter jets, tanks, ships, and other military equipment from Russia on credit. Repayment is made from Hanoi’s share of profits from Rusvietpetro, the joint Vietnam-Russia oil venture in Siberia.

Vietnam’s additional profits are transferred to Zarubezhneft, a Russian-owned oil and gas company based in Moscow. Zarubezhneft then transfers an equal sum from its joint venture in Vietnam to Vietnam’s Oil and Gas Group.

UPDATE 0558 GMT:

Contradicting Donald Trump, the US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, says Russia’s drone incursion into Poland on September 10 was a test of NATO’s response.

“If it had all happened at once, maybe you could call it an accident. But six hours of drones? That’s a test – a way to see what the West would do. And we have to respond like it’s a test,” Kellogg said in an interview.

Around 20 drones overflew Poland, whose air defenses were assisted by NATO members.

Trump declared that the incursion “could have been a mistake”.

But a Russian drone enter Romanian airspace on September 13. And on Friday, Italian F-35s drove away three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets that were over Estonia for 12 minutes.

Kellogg said, “You have to look at Putin and Russia as an expansionist power. He wants to re-establish the Russian Empire —just look at history. Give him an inch, he’ll take a mile.”

UPDATE 0550 GMT:

At least one civilian has been murdered and 13 injured by a large Russian missile and drone attack early Saturday.

Officials reported explosions in the cities of Pavlohrad and Mykolaiv around 4:40 a.m. Blasts were heard in Dnipro shortly after 6 a.m.

The casualties were in the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine. Several high-rise buildings, homes, and garages were damaged in Dnipro.

In the Kyiv region, strikes were reported in Bucha, Boryspil, and Obukhiv. A home, 10 garage units, and five cars were damaged.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine’s drones have struck two oil refineries inside Russia overnight.

Residents testified to the attacks on the refineries in the Saratov and Samara regions.

The refinery on the outskirts of Saratov, nearly 600 km (372 miles) from the frontline in eastern Ukraine, was also hit on August 10, halting operations.. Videos and photographs on social media early Saturday showed a large explosion.

Saratov Governor Roman Busargin claimed a residential building was damaged, injuring one person. He did not mention the refinery.

The refinery produces more than 20 types of petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, and bitumen. It processed more than 4.8 million metric tons in 2023.

The second refinery is in Novokuybyshevsk in the Samara region, more than 900 km (559 miles) from the border. The extent of damage is not yet clear.

It was not immediately clear as to the damage caused in Novokuybyshevsk, although residents in the city reported a large blaze near the city.

The Rosneft complex was also struck in early August.