Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,303

On Friday, September 19, 2018, this is how things are going.

Fighting

As Ukraine launches its offensive against Russia’s extensive oil and gas industry, Ukrainian drones strike a significant oil processing and petrochemical complex in the Bashkortostan region and a refinery in the Volgograd region.
• According to Russia’s state-run TASS news agency, Russian military units claim to have taken over Yampol, a village in western Ukraine, and established new positions close to five residential areas there.
• Valery Gerasimov, the head of Russia’s most powerful force, claimed that along the front lines with Ukraine, Russia is “almost gaining ground” in “almost all directions.
• In response to Ukraine’s “heroic defense” of the region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the country’s president, asserted that Russian losses have increased in Pokrovsk, in the eastern city.
• Authorities in Latvia discovered debris near Ventspils, a Russian drone, on the Baltic coast. Andris Spruds, the country’s defense minister, claimed the object was a “decoy” Gerbera drone’s tail end, and that it was safe to use it.

Regional security

• The US Department of State has approved the purchase of Polish Javelin missile systems for an estimated $ 780 million. The agreement would improve the security of a NATO ally, according to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency.
• Polish engineers and soldiers will be taught how to defend against drone warfare by Ukraine. More than 20 drones were shot down by Polish and NATO forces in Ukraine’s airspace during a Russian airstrike on neighboring Ukraine a week prior to the announcement.
• Andrius Kubilius, the European Commission’s defense commissioner, announced plans to meet with defense ministers next week to discuss building a “drone wall” along the eastern border of the EU. This idea was already being discussed prior to the most recent instances of Russian drone incursions in EU airspace.
• At this week’s Taiwanese defense expo, Ukraine’s anti-drone technology was displayed. It had been tested against Russia.

Process of peace

• Donald Trump, the president of the US, expressed his disappointment with Vladimir Putin over his failure to reach an agreement on a peace deal with Ukraine in a Fox News interview.
• Because of my relationship with President Putin, I anticipated that the solution would be Russia-Ukraine. So I’m disappointed, Trump said.
• Trump also stated in the same interview that the US would assist in Ukraine’s efforts to end world war two. We would assist in ensuring peace once the war is over. And I believe that will ultimately occur,” he said.
• After speaking with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a separate press conference, Trump claimed that President Putin “has really let me down.”
• Trump and Starmer “decisively” put pressure on Putin to agree to a peace deal during the discussion, according to Starmer.
• According to TASS, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reacted to Trump by saying, “I don’t know him very well, but I know him well, but I have spoken with him several times, and I have forged a certain impression… that this is partly because he wants quick solutions.”

diplomacy and politics

President Zelenskyy thanked Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on X for his “assistance in returning Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.” He claimed to have spoken with him. After making reference to Ukraine at a dinner with Trump on Wednesday, he thanked King Charles of the United Kingdom for his “steady support.”

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Amir of Qatar, and I spoke with him on Twitter @TamimBinHamad.

I thanked him for his assistance in bringing back Ukrainian children who had been abducted by Russia. This kind of kindness and care for our children is very important to us.

I urged Qatar to participate in…

Energy and the economy

• According to the Reuters news agency, Russia’s Ministry of Finance has announced a new measure to protect the country’s budget from oil price fluctuations and Western sanctions. For September, Russian oil and gas sales are expected to decline by 23 percent from the previous year, according to the Reuters news agency.
• Putin reaffirmed his desire to boost Russia’s wartime economy by enacting measures to increase taxes on the wealthy, such as a luxury tax or higher stock dividend taxes.

Sanctions

• According to an official, the European Commission will release its 19th package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, which includes a proposal to outlaw Russian liquefied natural gas.
• 95 “shadow fleet” Russian vessels, which are oil tankers used to evade Western sanctions, have received new sanctions from Australia. Following a similar move by the EU, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Japan, the government also reduced the price cap for Russian oil to $47.60 per barrel, from $ 60 per barrel.