Russia Strikes Ukrainian Border Trains as Ukraine Hits Oil Refineries

The Russian Armed Forces launched a massive aerial campaign on September 12 and 13, 2026, deploying nearly 500 drones across Ukraine. The strikes targeted residential areas in Odesa, where multiple civilians were killed and wounded, and critical infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih, and Kramatorsk. In a significant escalation, Russian Geran-5 drones struck a passenger train bound for Warsaw in the Volyn region and a petrol station near the Yahodyn border crossing, just hundreds of meters from Poland. Ukrzaliznytsia suggested the train attack may have targeted a diplomatic party including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

In retaliation, Ukrainian forces conducted long-range drone strikes against Russian energy and chemical infrastructure. Key targets included the TANECO refining complex in Nizhnekamsk and the Slavyansk-ECO oil refinery in Slavyansk-on-Kuban, Russia. These operations also hit chemical plants in Samara and Perm that produce rocket fuel additives. Russian authorities reported at least two deaths in Nizhnekamsk.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk scrambled F-16s to secure Polish airspace and warned that further escalation could affect Polish territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that "The Russians expanded the war from the front, where they are unsuccessful, into the economy," and expressed willingness to meet Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Miami. The Kremlin dismissed the G20 meeting as impossible but indicated that three-way negotiations involving the United States could occur in October. Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Zelenskyy to halt attacks on Russian oil refineries.