russia

Russia's first wartime parliamentary election delivered United Russia a predictable victory, with antiwar candidates barred. Meanwhile, Moscow opened unauthorized polling stations in Moldova's Transnistria region, defying protests.

Russia launched 172 drones overnight on 20-21 September, with 148 destroyed or jammed, as its September aerial blitz continues. Bloomberg reports Moscow is stockpiling ballistic missiles for winter strikes on energy infrastructure, raising concerns about the coming cold months.

Russian forces struck Pavlohrad on 14 September, killing one and injuring five, days after a shopping centre attack killed five. The strike is part of a pattern of intensified attacks on Ukrainian cities far from the front line.

Russia threatens to strike British military facilities in Ukraine and beyond after the UK shares Storm Shadow missile production technology with Kyiv. The CIA director visited Moscow amid US warnings of a possible Russian test of NATO. Ukraine reinforces Donetsk defences as the Kremlin dismisses escalation fears.

Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps liberated two villages and secured a third in Donetsk, retaking 125 sq km. Russia's monthly recruitment shortfall of 6,000 troops persists, and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remains on backup power.

Russian drones hit Ukrainian railways in Vinnytsia Oblast on 20 September, the third such attack this month. No casualties reported, but the raids signal a pattern of targeting supply lines.

Russia has begun mass-producing the Volna Kupol Garant electronic warfare system to jam Starlink, while its own satellite network Rassvet fails to reach orbit. NATO's Jammertest exercises in Norway counter satellite jamming threats, highlighting the electronic warfare race in Ukraine.

Russia continues its nightly mass drone and missile attacks on Ukraine into a third week, with Zircon missiles failing to hit targets but drones striking 15 locations. Diplomacy stalls as the Kremlin rules out a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting, and the UN warns of a winter humanitarian catastrophe.

Russian forces struck Sumy with guided aerial bombs on 16 and 18 September 2026, injuring six people including a 14-year-old girl, and damaging homes and a school. A second strike on a multi-storey building may have left people trapped under rubble, with authorities still gathering information.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen proposed an 'Emergency Security Protocol' to coordinate EU responses to hybrid attacks, as NATO jets downed a drone over Lithuania and Germany received its first F-35. Meanwhile, EU sanctions extension remains stalled by Slovakia, and Russia plans super-prisons in occupied Kherson.

Sweden convenes its National Security Council after Germany formally blames Russia for the Leipzig drone incident, as a wave of sabotage targets European defence sites. Meanwhile, a Russian drone strike near the Polish border endangers Western officials traveling from Kyiv, underscoring a coordinated hybrid campaign to undermine support for Ukraine.

On 12 September 2026, the Ukrainian Navy reported that its Sargan 3000 naval drone destroyed a Russian unmanned surface vessel in the Black Sea, marking the first-ever naval drone battle. The engagement signals a new era in maritime warfare, with both sides increasingly relying on autonomous platforms. Russia has not yet commented on the loss.

Russian forces killed two civilians in a double-tap strike on a Dnipro food business on 10 September, then spent a week attacking railways, energy infrastructure and residential areas across Ukraine, including a drone strike that injured three children in Kyiv Oblast on 18 September.

Russia is preparing final tests of a ballistic missile with a range of up to 800 km by end of 2026, while up to 25,000 North Korean workers produce drones at a sanctioned Russian factory. Poland warns that Moscow plans hybrid strikes against NATO allies to weaken collective defence.

Russia's intensified drone campaign targets civilians, medics, and journalists across Ukraine, with Kherson's power grid crippled and a Kyiv TV station struck. Zelensky urges allied air defense as attacks violate a short-lived pause.

Ukraine's military has intensified strikes on Russian fuel depots, drone launch sites, and S-400 air defence systems, hitting targets in Bryansk, Donetsk, and Luhansk. The campaign aims to degrade Russian logistics and air cover ahead of battlefield operations.

Russian forces have hit warehouses, a Coca-Cola plant, and railway stations across Ukraine over three weeks, disrupting retail supply chains and train schedules. While casualties remain low due to sheltering, the campaign appears aimed at crippling Ukraine's civilian logistics.

A Russian drone strike on a Kyiv apartment block on 2 September damaged a school and a clinic. Subsequent missile attacks on 17 September wounded 12, including two children. The strikes are part of a broader pattern targeting civilian infrastructure.

Russia has not responded to Ukraine's proposal for a mutual halt on critical infrastructure strikes, limiting its concessions to a three-day moratorium on capital attacks during US envoy talks. Meanwhile, Moscow has also stalled on evacuating civilians from occupied Oleshky, where thousands remain trapped.

Russia launched 80 drones at Ukraine on the night of 15-16 September, with 63 downed, following a 200-drone attack the previous night. The sustained aerial campaign has hit infrastructure and civilian areas across the country, while the UN warns of a winter catastrophe and the Kremlin rules out a Putin-Zelenskyy meeting.