Three Russian servicemen were reportedly killed overnight on Dec. 26 following explosions and air raid sirens in Russia's city of Engels. The Russian Ministry of Defense said their air defense shot down what they called a Ukrainian drone.
The city is home to Engels air base, located around 730 kilometers southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometers from Ukraine.
The Kirishi refinery is one of the largest in Russia and has a processing capacity of over 17 million tons of oil per year. A fire broke out at the facility during a Ukrainian drone attack, Leningrad Oblast Governor Alexander Drozdenko claimed.
Units of Ukraine's 425th Skelya Regiment liberated the village of Filia in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, a military spokesperson said. Russia claimed control of the settlement on Aug. 24.
The Metafrax Chemicals plant in Gubakha, Perm Krai, is subject to international sanctions by the U.K. and Ukraine.
"I think we in the United States are behind ... I think a lot of nations are behind, and I think to the credit of the Ukrainians, they picked up on that, and they're the world leaders in it."
"There's no doubt about the drones were intentionally launched. The question is whether the drones were targeted to go into Poland specifically," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters.
"Russian military personnel know exactly where their drones are headed and how long they can stay in the air," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, commenting on the attacks. "The routes are always calculated. This cannot be an accident, a mistake, or the initiative of some lower-level commanders."
Explosive devices were discovered during an inspection of the tracks, Oryol Oblast Governor Andrey Klychkov said. One of the devices detonated, killing two officers and seriously injuring another.
There is an agreement in place with the EU to maintain Kyiv's progress despite Budapest's veto, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka said.
The proposal, described by one source as "legally creative," would allow Brussels to provide critical financial support to Ukraine without technically seizing the Russian capital—an act that would be fraught with legal risk.
Zelensky remarks come days after Russian drones violated Polish airspace and were shot down in what marked the first known instance of NATO forces directly engaging Russian aerial assets during the full-scale invasion.
Preliminary assessments indicate that key infrastructure at a major oil refinery in Russia’s Bashkortostan region— including a vacuum column essential for primary oil processing—suffered significant damage.
"You need something that's going to flip a switch in the Kremlin's brain," the former U.K. Prime Minister told the Kyiv Independent.
The new guidelines, which are still being ironed out, will include general recommendations such as harsher criteria for Russians coming to the EU.
Russia launched a tirade of attacks killing three people in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, and killing one in Borova, Kharkiv Oblast, Ukrainian authorities reported on Sept. 13.
