Russia, Ukraine Continue Strikes on Energy Targets Amid Ceasefire Talks
By Olena Harmash
Escalating Energy Strikes and Ceasefire Negotiations
KYIV, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Russia hit petrol stations in Kyiv on Tuesday and Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery, as the warring sides carried on with strikes on each other's energy targets despite an announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that they had agreed to stop.
Russian Drone Attacks on Ukrainian Infrastructure
Russia launched 200 drones at Ukraine's capital and other cities in overnight attacks, killing two people. In addition to petrol stations in Kyiv it struck energy and port infrastructure in other regions, Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian Counterstrikes on Russian Facilities
For its part, Ukraine hit a Russian oil refinery in Syzran in Russia's Samara region on the Volga River, and also drone production facilities in the Taganrog and Oryol regions, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Impact on Russian Regions
The Samara governor said an industrial facility was hit there without identifying it. The Taganrog governor said a warehouse of e-commerce firm Ozon was struck there.
Zelenskiy's Response and Justification
"Russia continues to attack our energy sector, regular logistics and critical infrastructure. And our responses to them for this are tangible," Zelenskiy said on the Telegram app.
Ceasefire Talks and International Reactions
Trump said on Monday that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to halt strikes on each other’s energy infrastructure, which he says are the main factor in a global fuel shortage that has driven diesel prices in the United States to record highs.
Ukraine's Conditions for Halting Strikes
Zelenskiy said that Ukraine was ready to halt such strikes but required credible guarantees from its partners that Russia would also stop. Russia did not immediately comment on Trump’s announcement of an agreement but has previously welcomed calls from Trump on Kyiv to halt attacks on Russian refineries.
Background of Energy Infrastructure Attacks
Russia has been targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure with missiles and drones persistently since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, and began targeting petrol stations in Kyiv and other cities in recent weeks.
Kyiv has stepped up long-range attacks on Russia this year, including a campaign targeting oil refineries that has caused fuel shortages.
Previous attempts by the U.S. administration to broker a ceasefire on energy infrastructure have failed.
Explosions Rock Kyiv and Regional Security Concerns
EXPLOSIONS ROCK KYIV
Casualties and Damage in Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia
Ukrainian officials said that one person was killed in Russian attacks on Kyiv and another died in the city of Zaporizhzhia in the southeast of the country.
Damage to Petrol Stations
Two petrol stations in Kyiv were damaged, the state energy company Naftogaz said. Reuters heard several explosions in Kyiv and the surrounding region.
Regional Military Responses
As Moscow's attack on Ukraine was under way, neighbouring Poland held military aviation operations as a preventive step, Poland's Armed Forces said, adding later that there was no violation of its airspace.
NATO and Baltic Region Incidents
In Lithuania, a NATO fighter jet shot down a drone early on Tuesday, the National Crisis Management Centre said. It did not say the origin of the drone. Similar incidents in the Baltic region in recent months have involved Ukrainian drones that Kyiv says were steered across NATO borders by Russian signal jamming.
(Reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv, Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk, Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo; Editing by Peter Graff)
