Thursday, September 4. Russian War against Ukraine: News and information from Ukraine

Shipments from Ukraine. Day 1.289.

Russian attack on Ukraine

On 3 September, Ukraine reported at least one killed person and five others injured after a nightly air raid with 526 projectiles. Ukraine’s Air Force intercept And stuck 430 drones together with 21 of 24 rockets. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zenskyy denounced the attack as ‘demonstratively’, in which it described as designed to show Russian impunity. “Every Russian strike must get a real response,” he posted On X. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valerii Syrskyi stated that Ukraine would build a layered defense system Needed to protect his people against Russian drones.

Between September 1 and September 4, Russian strikes killed at least 21 civilians and wounded more than 70 others in Ukraine. Eastern Donetsk Region, the hardest hit, suffered 14 killed citizens and 39 injured. In the south, Kherson Province registered three fatalities and 19 injured people. Northeast Kharkiv Province placed three dead and 10 injured; In the neighboring central Dnipropetrovsk Region, one person was killed and at least three others were injured.

Putin invites Zenskyy to Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on 3 September that he is ready To meet Zenskyy face-to-face in Moscow. During a press conference after the Victory Day Parade in Beijing, Putin said that a visit from Zenskyy to the Russian capital is possible, adding that he “never excluded the opportunity to meet him.”

However, Ukraine rejected the proposal downright. “If you want no meeting – invite me to Moscow,” Zenskyyy said During a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on 4 September. Zenskyy added that although Russia’s conversation about a meeting “is already a good sign”, Kyiv sees no real Russian intentions to end the war. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also rejected the idea of ​​conversations in Moscow. He pointed out “serious proposals” from seven alternative guest countries and accused Putin “consciously make unacceptable proposals.”

Putin arrived in China on 31 August for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, including more than 20 countries. He then attended an immense military parade in Beijing and marked the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Second World War. The Parade took place on Tiananmen square, where the Chinese authorities brutally brutally oppressed pro-democracy protests by students in 1989.

The visit had strategic implications for both China and Russia. Putin received extra legitimacy in the aftermath of his recent meeting in Alaska with US President Donald Trump. Russia also provided the approval of China for the long -awaited “Power of Siberia 2” pipeline, which will cross Mongolia, with plans to deliver 50 billion cubic meters of gas every year for 30 years. For China, the top served as a lively demonstration of the growing economic and military power.

The narrow ties between the two authoritarian leaders were further underlined by a scattered dialogue between Putin and Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, in which they discussed with the expansion of the human lifespan by bio-technologies, a possible indication of Putin’s intention to retain power in the Kremlin.

Ukraine paralyzes Russian refineries while India win

For weeks are Ukrainian drones targeting Russian oil refineries. Some of these strikes have yielded a measurable effect and have eliminated no less than 20% of Russia’s refining capacity. That loss represents a million barrels per day, usually gasoline and diesel. The result was lines on gas stations in Russia, with reports of shortages of occupied Crimea to Vladivostok in the Far East of Russia.

Moreover, since January, wholesale gas prices have risen by 54% to a record high. To protect the domestic stock, the government is forced to ban the export of gasoline; In some regions, the ration of fuel is already appropriate. The tribe is also visible in the finances of Moscow: Russia’s budget shortage for the first seven months of 2025 reached $ 61.4 billion, the annual target.

In the foreground of the Ukraine State campaign ”kamikaze”Drone development. Presented for the first time in May, these models are already rolling from the lines of 100 drones per day. Each costs around $ 55,000, but can fly to 1,000 miles to Russia with a core head with about 130 to 265 pounds of explosives. These characteristics make the drone good enough to use Russian defenses on the scale.

While Russia is struggling with domestic fuel misery, the export of the oil benefits foreign buyers. The import of Russian crude oil through India has saved its refineries at least $ 12.6 billion since April 2022. Discounts were steep at that time, so that India was helped to take advantage of Russian barrels that are more than suppliers priced among other things. However, by the tax year of 2024-25, the savings was limited to $ 1.45 billion, because discounts shrink during shipment and insurance costs increased due to Western restrictions.

In addition to the direct savings, the real benefits for India can be even higher. The purchases have contributed to the global rough prices under control, which prevented a peak in the import account of the country. For a nation that depends on input for approximately 88% of its oil, the indirect effect of stabilizing world markets probably outweighs the reduced discounts.

Buying Russian oil increased the export of India. India has emerged as a leading supplier From diesel to Ukraine this year, which yields around 10% of the total diesel deliver. Only a year earlier it was good for barely 1% of the country’s import. Between January and August, Ukraine imported 451,000 tons of diesel from India, worth around $ 333 million.

The timing for the increase has been crucial. In 2025 India reopened the routes of the Red Sea that were previously blocked by the Yemen’s Houthis. This step has enabled Indian Diesel to reach Ukraine more efficiently and to compete with other sellers.

However, the Golf may not last long. Large Ukrainian fuel distributors such as WOG and Okko have refused to import the Indian diesel, with reference to concern that much of it is made of Russian crude oil. “We clearly understand that Diesel from India is produced from Russian oil, and this is unacceptable to us,” Wog told Forbes Ukraine on 3 September. European sanctions can further complicate things: the 18th package of Sanctions of the EU, which comes into force of January, prohibits import of petroleum products made from Russian oil in third countries.

By Danylo Nosov, Alan Sacks