A locomotive damaged in a Russian drone attack is seen at the Yahodyn-Dorohusk station near Ukraine’s border with Poland on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. (Ukrzaliznytsia via AP)
Ukrainian Ukrzaliznytsia Railway Company Press Office
Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,662.
Russian Drone Hits Kyiv-Warsaw Train Near Polish Border
On Sunday, Sept. 13, a Russian drone struck the locomotive of a Kyiv-Warsaw passenger train near the Yahodyn-Dorohusk crossing on Ukraine’s border with Poland. The attack took place almost at the same time that former CIA Director David Petraeus and former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as well as top European officials, were at the station on another train.
The crossing is one of Ukraine’s main connections with Poland and the European Union and is used for passenger travel, commercial traffic and moving supplies into Ukraine. It is a main route for foreign officials and international delegations traveling to and from Kyiv. The attack prompted renewed concern in Poland about Russia’s targeting of infrastructure close to NATO territory.
Russian Attacks on Ukraine
Odesa. A Russian attack Saturday, Sept. 12, killed two people and injured 26 after a drone struck a residential building. Another attack Sunday morning wounded at least five people, according to local officials.
The attacks damaged residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure across the city. Russian attacks on the Odesa region have increasingly focused on port infrastructure and transportation routes connecting Ukraine with international markets. Earlier this month, Russian strikes damaged port facilities and a border crossing with Romania.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia launched nearly 500 drones against Ukraine on Saturday, Sept. 12, attacking Odesa, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kryvyi Rih and other regions. At least six civilians were killed and 43 injured in the latest nationwide attacks, according to regional authorities.
Ukraine Strikes Russian Oil Infrastructure
Russia is targeting Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and residential areas while Ukraine is increasingly targeting Russia’s oil-refining capacity and other facilities supporting the Russian war effort.
Ukrainian forces struck two major Russian oil facilities overnight Sunday, including the TANECO refinery in Nizhnekamsk, in Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan, more than 1,000 kilometers from Ukraine, and the Slavyansk-EKO refinery in the Krasnodar region.
The strikes were part of Ukraine’s continuing effort to reduce Russia’s ability to refine oil and generate revenue used to finance the war. The attacks demonstrate the increasingly reciprocal nature of the long-range campaign.
YES Meets in Kyiv as Russia Attacks
Against the backdrop of air raids and jet-powered drone attacks, Kyiv hosted the 22nd annual meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference, organized by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation.
The meeting, held Sept. 11-12 under the theme “Peace Through Strength NOW!,” brought together 700 participants from Ukraine and abroad, including 90 representatives from the United States.
YES has become one of Ukraine’s most important international political forums during the war and has included political leaders, members of parliament, diplomats, military commanders, intelligence officials, business leaders, economists and civil-society representatives.
Ukrainian businessman and philanthropist Victor Pinchuk originally held the international forum in Yalta, Crimea, in 2004. After Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, it moved to Kyiv.
The forum once again brought international decision-makers into Ukraine while the country remained under Russian missile and drone attack.
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and an administration envoy involved in the diplomatic effort, addressed YES by video. Kushner said Washington had made progress in negotiations but that Ukraine and Russia still lacked a shared vision for a settlement. He identified territory as the central obstacle. Ukraine, Kushner said, does not currently want to make the territorial concessions Russia is demanding.
The comments came after Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff traveled to Moscow and Kyiv as Washington seeks to restart negotiations and potentially bring Russia and Ukraine into trilateral talks.
A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers at the YES conference in Kyiv said the United States should continue supporting Ukraine while acknowledging growing fatigue among Americans and limits on U.S. weapons production. “There is overwhelming bipartisan support from the American people. But there is a sense of fatigue,” Rep. Eugene Vindman, D-Va., said.
Ukraine Action Summit Opens in Washington
Hundreds of Ukraine supporters gathered in Washington for the 9th Ukraine Action Summit, taking place Sept. 12-16.
More than 700 Ukraine supporters from across the United States are participating in the gathering, according to the Ukrainian World Congress. The summit includes a two-day conference, followed by advocacy days and meetings with members of Congress. Advocates press lawmakers on continued military assistance, sanctions against Russia, security guarantees for Ukraine and long-term U.S. engagement. The goal is to turn Ukraine policy into a constituent issue for members of Congress rather than leaving it solely to the administration and foreign-policy establishment.
Ukraine Faces Another Difficult Winter
The attacks are coming as Ukraine prepares for another winter under wartime conditions. Ukrainian officials say Russian strikes have already caused billions of dollars in infrastructure damage this year.
The country’s southern ports and export infrastructure have come under particular pressure, threatening agricultural and industrial exports.
Ukraine’s government is also facing a widening budget gap as defense spending rises and attacks continue to damage the economy. Reuters reported that infrastructure damage from airstrikes has approached $10 billion in 2026.
Protecting the electricity grid, heating systems, transportation networks and water infrastructure will be among Kyiv’s biggest challenges in the coming months.
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