Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1930: Ukraine strikes Russian chemical plant 1,600km from border using Estonian tech

Exclusive

Ukrainian troops are on the attack in Sumy—and advancing. Moscow stripped troops from Sumy to double down on its attack in Donetsk. For Kyiv, that was an opportunity.

Moscow touts new tank production in Omsk—analysts cry hype. Russia may have fired up a second production line for new tanks. But how many new T-80s is Uralvagonzavod actually producing?

AI sees, diesel drives, armor protects—Ukraine's 4-ton ground drone Bufalo is designed to endure war. Unlike earlier robotic systems, Bufalo is built to go the distance and stay useful even when hit.

War reshapes Ukraine's economy, turning taxes into tanks and groceries into survival math. Latest household and budget data expose Ukraine's triple economic burden as the country spends 31% of GDP on defence.

Military

Frontline report: Russia tried to break through Sumy — now Ukraine threatens its troops from behind. The frontline has blurred into one battlespace where state lines no longer matter. Ukraine liberates Pankivka village while as Russia deploys 4 brigades to Dobropillia direction. Russian forces lost control of Pankivka settlement to Ukrainian defense units operating under the 1st NGU "Azov" Corps Ukraine downs Russia's rare cruise missile-capable heavy drone Orion in Kursk Oblast using interceptor UAV (video). The 414th drone brigade confirmed it as their biggest drone kill since the start of the full-scale war. The Orion has a wingspan of 16 meters. HUR drone strikes Russian Buk-M3 air defense system 50km behind front lines. The Main Intelligence Directorate has added another Russian air defense system to its target list, striking a Buk-M3 complex in occupied Zaporizhzhia Ukrainian strike destroys key Russian radar station in Rostov Oblast. Russia has lost a key air traffic control radar system in its southern region after Ukrainian forces struck the RLK-1 Navigatsiya Yuga complex on 4 Sept. ISW: Ukraine strikes pipeline after Russians use underground route for third infiltration mission of war. The Russian military is transferring specialized infiltration tactics across different front sectors, with forces near Kupiansk replicating underground pipeline advances previously used in Avdiivka and Sudzha

Intelligence and Technology

Ukraine offers allies to learn how to fight modern skies as hundreds of Russian drones destroyed nightly. Ukraine's Air Force commanders coordinate small units, interceptor drones, and electronic warfare systems. Ukraine uses Estonian launchers for its long-range drone strikes on Russia. Ukraine has conducted long-range drone strikes using Estonian CATA launcher systems since 2022, enabling attacks on Russian territory Frontline without internet – Ukrainian troops hit by Starlink outage. On the morning 15 September, a major outage affected the Starlink satellite internet network along the entire frontline, disrupting connectivity used by Ukrainian forces

International

Trump's push to warm relations with Belarus may save Russia's dying aviation fleet. The lifting of sanctions could let Minsk feed components straight into Moscow's grounded aircraft. "No-fly, no-AAA" corridor could allow Warsaw stop Russian drones in Ukraine before they hit Poland. Mobile fire groups, AWACS, and fighter jets could intercept hundreds of incoming targets. Experts uncover US "shopping list" that feeds Russia's war machine with $2.50 billion in 2025. Energy, metals, and resources — every crate and container keeps the Kremlin's missiles flying while civilians suffer. "I don't see anyone willing to fight with Russia": Sikorski explains why security guarantees for Ukraine may fail like Budapest Memorandum. He recalled Budapest's failed guarantees and warned the new ones may collapse the same way. Norway opens large training camp for Ukrainian military in Poland. A 23-year-old Ukrainian brigade instructor who survived battles in Bakhmut's "meat grinder" now helps Norwegian forces design realistic combat training at a secret military camp in Poland Belarus opens doors to US officers at Russian-Belarusian war games in Belarus. Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin rolled out the red carpet for visiting US officers at the West-2025 exercise, telling them they could "go there and see, talk to people" in what officials called a surprise development. Poland permits NATO deployment on its soil following Russian drone incursion. This comes as a part of the alliance's new "Eastern Sentinel" initiative with contributions from Denmark, France, Britain, Germany and other allies. Sikorski: Putin's Polish drone incursion was calculated probe of NATO resolve. Russia's use of unarmed but weapons-capable drones against Poland represents a new escalation tactic designed to test NATO boundaries without triggering full-scale war.

Humanitarian and Social Impact

City in Ukraine's only region bordering both Russia and Belarus suffers its most devastating attack since war began. Nizhyn endured 16 hours of drone strikes that set an oil depot ablaze, wounded rescuers, and left entire districts without power. Three Russian bombs hit Kramatorsk center, injuring 15 civilians. Russia hits Zaporizhzhia suburbs: Houses burn, power cut in night attack. Russian forces launched a massive overnight attack on Ukraine, firing three S-300 missiles and 84 drones from six directions

Political and Legal Developments

Nielsen slammed for counting occupied Ukrainian lands as new Russian regions. Global analytics giant NielsenIQ has found itself at the center of controversy after its Russian subsidiary began publicly treating Ukraine's temporarily occupied territories as "new regions of Russia" in its FMCG market research Read our earlier daily review here.