Here are the key events on day 1,303 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 19 Sep 2025
Here is how things stand on Friday, September 19 :
Fighting
- Ukrainian drones hit a key oil-processing and petrochemical complex in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, as well as an oil refinery in the Volgograd region, as Ukraine escalates its campaign against Russia’s extensive oil and gas sector.
- Russian military units claim to have breached Ukraine’s western village of Yampol and secured new positions near five residential areas in the same area, according to Russia’s state TASS news agency.
- Russia’s Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov has claimed Russia is gaining ground in “almost all directions” along the front lines with Ukraine.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisted that Russian losses have mounted in the eastern city of Pokrovsk amid Ukraine’s “heroic defence” of the area.
- Latvian authorities identified debris from a Russian drone found on the Baltic coast, near the country’s port city of Ventspils. Latvia’s Defence Minister Andris Spruds wrote on X that the object was the tail end of a “decoy” Gerbera drone and confirmed it was not explosive.
Regional security
- The United States Department of State has approved the sale of Javelin missile systems to Poland for an estimated $780m. The deal would “support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally”, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.
- Ukraine has agreed to train Polish soldiers and engineers in drone warfare defence. The announcement came a week after Polish and NATO forces shot down more than 20 drones violating the country’s airspace during a Russian aerial attack on neighbouring Ukraine.
- The European Commission’s Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius said he plans to convene talks with defence ministers next week on creating a “drone wall” along the European Union’s eastern border, a concept that was already under discussion before the most recent incidents of Russian drone incursions in EU airspace.
- Ukrainian anti-drone technology, battle-tested against Russia, was on display at a Taiwanese defence expo this week.
Peace process
- US President Donald Trump said in a Fox News interview that he was “very disappointed” with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his failure to secure a peace deal in Ukraine.
- “The one I thought was going to be easiest [to settle] was going to be Russia-Ukraine, because of my relationship with President Putin. So I’m disappointed,” Trump said.
- In the same interview, Trump proclaimed the US would play a role in post-war peace-building in Ukraine. “After the war is settled, we would help secure the peace. And I think ultimately that’ll happen,” he said.
- Trump said in another joint news conference, after meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, that President Putin “has really let me down”.
- During the meeting, Trump and Starmer discussed ways to increase defence support for Ukraine and “decisively” put pressure on Putin to agree to a peace deal, Starmer said.
- Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took a swipe at Trump in response, according to TASS: “When President Trump says he is disappointed, it seems to me – I can’t say that I know him very well, of course, but I have spoken with him several times, and I have formed a certain impression – that this is partly because he wants quick solutions”.
Politics and diplomacy
- President Zelenskyy said he had spoken with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and thanked him on X for “assistance in returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia”. In another post, he thanked the United Kingdom’s King Charles for “steadfast support” after the king referenced Ukraine during a dinner with Trump on Wednesday.
I spoke with the Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani @TamimBinHamad.
I thanked him for his assistance in returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. We greatly value this solidarity and such sincere attention to our children.
I invited Qatar to take part in the…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 18, 2025
Economy and energy
- Russia’s Ministry of Finance announced a new measure to help protect the state budget from oil price fluctuations and Western sanctions as Russian oil and gas sales for September are expected to see a 23 percent reduction compared with last year, the Reuters news agency reports.
- Putin suggested he was willing to raise taxes on the wealthy, such as imposing a luxury tax or higher taxes on stock dividends, to boost Russia’s wartime economy.
Sanctions
- The European Commission is slated to present its 19th package of sanctions against Russia to member states on Friday, which includes a proposal to ban Russian liquefied natural gas, an official said.
- Australia announced new sanctions against 95 “shadow fleet” Russian vessels, which are oil tankers used to evade Western sanctions. The government also lowered the price cap for Russian oil to $47.60 per barrel, down from $60 a barrel, following a similar move by the EU, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Japan.
