The war between Russia and Ukraine, now well into its fifth year, produced fresh strikes near NATO territory over the weekend even as officials floated the possibility of a leader-to-leader meeting later this year.
Ukrainian officials said a drone strike hit the locomotive of a Kyiv to Warsaw passenger train in the Volyn region on September 13, only about two kilometers from the Polish border, and that other drones struck a gas station near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk border crossing the same night. Poland's government responded to the strikes, and Lithuania separately sounded an air alert over a suspected drone threat near its capital, Vilnius, underscoring how the war continues to spill into the airspace of neighboring countries. Kyiv's mayor said the city is drawing up contingency plans for possible fuel shortages as strikes on fuel infrastructure continue, saying local authorities lack the resources to build shelters at every gas station.
On the other side of the fighting, Ukraine has continued to strike Russian refineries, hitting two more over the weekend according to Ukrainian reporting, part of a campaign that has targeted facilities Kyiv says supply Russia's war effort. The International Energy Agency has noted that Gulf and Russian refineries together supplied nearly half of the world's seaborne diesel earlier this year, a reminder of how the refinery campaign connects to global fuel markets. President Trump has called on Ukraine to stop striking diesel facilities inside Russia.
Looking further ahead, Zelensky has said he is ready to meet Putin at the G20 leaders' summit, which is scheduled to take place in Miami in December, a potential venue for direct engagement between the two leaders that has not happened publicly during the war. Ukraine's General Staff also said Monday that Russian forces have suffered more than 1.5 million casualties since the war began in February 2022, a figure reported by Ukrainian military authorities.
Watch for further developments around the proposed Miami G20 meeting in December, as well as whether either side scales back strikes on energy infrastructure given the strain already visible in European fuel markets.
Why are drone strikes near Poland significant?
Poland is a NATO member, so strikes landing just kilometers from its border raise concern about the war spilling beyond Ukraine's frontiers.
Could Zelensky and Putin meet soon?
Zelensky has said he is open to meeting Putin at the G20 summit scheduled for Miami in December, though no meeting has been confirmed.