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Ukraine Invasion Day 1,303: UKR continues to degrade RU’s oil and gasoline markets [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-09-16
Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of September 15 to 16.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 113 Shahed-type, Gerbera-type, and other drones – including roughly 70 Shahed-type drones – from the directions of Kursk and Bryansk cities; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; and Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai.[89] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed or suppressed 89 drones and that 22 Russian drones struck six locations and debris fell on two locations throughout Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reported that Russian forces launched over 100 drones and 150 glide bomb strikes against civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Kherson oblasts on the night of September 15 to 16 and that Russian forces have already used more than 3,500 drones, almost 190 missiles, and over 2,500 glide bombs against Ukraine in September 2025.[90]
Zelensky reported and geolocated footage confirms that a Russian drone struck the Ukrainian Institute of Advanced Qualification of Pharmacy Specialists of the National Pharmaceutical University in central Kharkiv City, Kharkiv Oblast during the day on September 16.[91] Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne reported that the drone strike heavily damaged the roof of an administrative building at the university and Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that the drone strike caused a fire.[92] The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported that preliminary data suggests that Russian forces used a Geran-2 drone to strike the university.[93] The Kharkiv Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported that the strike injured four people.
understandingwar.org/...
Ukraine’s ongoing long-range strike campaign targeting critical Russian energy infrastructure continues to degrade Russia’s oil and gasoline markets, likely affecting Russia’s long-term ability to finance its war in Ukraine. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on September 16 that Ukraine’s Special Operation Forces (SOF), alongside unspecified Ukrainian forces, conducted a drone strike against the Saratov Oil Refinery in Saratov Oblast, resulting in several explosions and a fire.[13] The Saratov refinery specializes in gasoline, diesel fuel, and oil fuel production and other oil products; it has a 4.8-million-ton production capacity; and supplies the Russian military. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces are conducting a battle damage assessment.
Reuters reported on September 16 that three industry sources stated that Russian state-controlled petroleum company Transneft warned producers that Transneft may need to reduce output following a series of Ukrainian drone strikes on critical export ports and refineries.[14] Two industry sources told Reuters that Transneft recently restricted unspecified oil firms’ ability to store oil in the Transneft pipeline system and warned producers that they may have to accept less oil if Transneft’s infrastructure sustains further damage. The three sources informed Reuters that the Ukrainian strikes could force Russia, which accounts for nine percent of global oil production, to ultimately cut output. Reuters noted that Russia lacks significant capacity to stockpile oil, and Russian industry sources reported that Russia has already lost some oil exporting capacity following August 2025 Ukrainian drone strikes against the Ust-Luga oil terminal in Leningrad Oblast. Reuters reported on September 15 that two industry sources stated that Ukrainian forces damaged a unit at the Russian Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishinefteorgsintez refinery plant, one of Russia’s largest oil refineries, in Leningrad Oblast in a drone strike on September 14, forcing authorities to halt operations due to a subsequent fire.[15] Reuters reported that the unit accounts for nearly 40 percent of the plant’s total processing capacity of roughly 20 million tons per year. Sources told Reuters that the Ukrainian strike caused a fire and damaged a furnace and other unspecified equipment at the unit, which may take up to a month to repair. The sources noted that the plant aims to boost operations at other units to compensate for the damage, which will allow the plant to maintain 75 percent of its processing volumes. ISW continues to assess that Ukraine’s ongoing strike campaign targeting critical Russian energy infrastructure, particularly against oil refineries, is generating compounding effects on Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine and exacerbating chronic gasoline shortages in Russia and occupied Ukraine.[16]
understandingwar.org/...
x ⚡️Russia warns oil producers of possible output cuts after Ukrainian drone strikes, Reuters reports. Transneft has restricted firms' ability to store oil in its pipelines and warned it may have to accept less oil if infrastructure sustains further damage, Reuters reported.
[image or embed] — The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) Sep 16, 2025 at 12:03 PM
A source within Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) told Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne that GUR operatives set off explosives at a facility of the Russian “47th Separate Airborne Assault Battalion” of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade (Pacific Fleet) near Shchitovaya, Primorsky Krai on the morning of September 16, killing an unspecified number of Russian personnel.[21] The source noted that elements of the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade have been implicated in war crimes in several areas of Ukraine, as ISW and other Western organizations have documented.[22] A Russian insider source claimed that Russian military unit 40159 (possibly the reformed 186th Separate Naval Infantry Engineering Battalion of the Primorsky Flotilla, Pacific Fleet) is also based at this facility.[23] Russian state media outlets claimed on September 16 that locals reported road closures and military helicopters flying near Vladivostok (immediately west of Shchitovaya) following the explosions.[24] The Primorsky Krai Anti-Terrorism Commission claimed on September 16 that malfunctions of gas infrastructure caused the explosions in Shchitovaya.[25]
understandingwar.org/...
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