Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered his military to increase long-range drone strikes against Russia to 1,000 per day, up from the current rate of about 300. The announcement came in his evening address on Friday, where he stated, “There needs to be more: there is a concrete goal, and we will fulfil this task.”
The escalation follows a series of Ukrainian drone attacks that have significantly impacted Russian fuel production. According to two industry sources speaking to Reuters, Russia’s gasoline production fell to about 70% of domestic consumption levels by the end of August. Major refineries in Perm, Nizhny Novgorod, and Yaroslavl, all significant producers of motor gasoline, were forced to suspend operations after drone strikes over the past week.
Impact on Russian Fuel Supplies
After a brief respite at the end of July, when some local authorities began easing or lifting restrictions on fuel sales, shortages returned to Russian regions in August. The sustained drone campaign has disrupted refining capacity, leading to renewed fuel supply problems across the country.
Western officials have also noted that Russia is losing about 6,000 more troops in Ukraine each month than it can recruit. While Russia is still acquiring new battlefield recruits at an estimated rate of 1,000 a day, in the past two months this has not been sufficient to replace those killed or injured, according to Peter Walker's report.
Ukraine's Food Logistics Devastated
On the Ukrainian side, recent Russian air attacks have destroyed about 90% of retailers’ food logistics, Kyiv’s agricultural minister said on Friday. Both countries have escalated strikes on economic targets, with Russia targeting warehouses for Ukraine’s premier supermarket chains, top postal service, and home-goods stores.
“As of today, roughly speaking, 90% of food logistics operated by retail chains have been destroyed, but that doesn’t mean Ukrainians will be left without food,” farm minister Taras Vysotskyi was cited by the Ukrinform agency as saying. His comments to reporters in Kyiv are the most frank official assessment of the damage Russia’s escalating strikes have brought on Ukraine’s increasingly fragile economy in the fifth year of war.
Energy and Nuclear Concerns
Ukraine has stored 14.6bn cubic metres of gas in underground storage, enough for the upcoming winter season, the country’s energy minister said. “Ukraine has stockpiled natural gas for the baseline scenario for getting through the winter,” Denys Shmyhal said on Friday.
The UN nuclear watchdog said on Friday it had been informed of three drone incidents at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine earlier this week. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that a drone attack on 25 August occurred near the plant’s cooling pond, injuring two plant employees, while two other drones on 26 August reportedly struck the site’s dry spent nuclear fuel storage area and the sprinkling device of the power units system. Radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia plant remained normal, the watchdog added.
Regional Emergencies and New Appointments
Authorities in Russia’s Rostov region declared a state of emergency on Friday, saying port closures and disruptions to navigation in the Azov-Black Sea basin had led to a significant accumulation of agricultural products at farms. The regional government said on Telegram an emergency response had been introduced across the region, without going into more detail.
Ukraine’s former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov has accepted a role as innovation adviser at Italy’s Defence Ministry, officials said on Friday. Italy’s defence minister Guido Crosetto had disclosed the offer shortly after Fedorov was dismissed in July. Fedorov, 35, was fired six months after his appointment, having initiated reforms around procurement and mobilisation that put him on a collision course with the military establishment and political rivals.
Russian forces on Friday resumed their drone barrage of Ukraine’s Kyiv region, hitting more than a dozen apartment buildings and storage depots in a second straight day of aerial attacks. Russian strikes in the Kyiv region damaged 14 warehouses, 16 private houses, three apartment buildings and 16 vehicles, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said Friday.
