Russia and Ukraine continued striking energy-related infrastructure on September 15 despite an announcement that the two sides had agreed to halt such attacks.
Russia launched around 200 drones at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities overnight, according to Ukrainian officials cited by Reuters. The attacks damaged petrol stations in Kyiv as well as energy and port infrastructure in other regions, and two people were reported killed.
Ukraine, meanwhile, said it struck a Russian oil refinery in Syzran in the Samara region and facilities linked to drone production in Taganrog and Oryol. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s attacks were a response to continued Russian strikes on its energy sector, logistics and critical infrastructure.
Energy targets remain central to the war
The exchange came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other’s energy infrastructure. Zelenskiy said Ukraine was prepared to halt those strikes but wanted credible guarantees that Russia would do the same.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the idea as positive but said stabilizing global fuel prices would also require secure commercial shipping and navigation, including for oil tankers.
Regional security concerns are also growing
Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian energy systems since its full-scale invasion began in 2022, while Ukraine has intensified long-range attacks on Russian refineries. The campaign has increasingly connected battlefield strategy with fuel supply and economic pressure.
The latest attacks also prompted precautionary military activity elsewhere in the region. Poland said it carried out preventive aviation operations, while Lithuania reported that a NATO fighter jet shot down an unidentified drone. Lithuanian officials did not identify the drone’s origin.
Source: Reuters, September 15, 2026.
