Aerial War in Ukraine

UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter named Čestmír purchase by Czech fundraisers.

The Battle for Fuel

Text: Miro Barič

August was exceptionally hot, but we don’t mean global warming. Between August 1st and August 31st, Ukraine launched its largest campaign so far against Russian oil infrastructure. The targets were refineries, but also fuel depots, oil pipelines, and fuel trains. Ukraine aims to choke not only the amount of fuel received by Russian frontline units but also Russian exports, which help finance the war. It resembles the “battle for fuel” fought by the American (and British) air force in 1944/45, which significantly helped in defeating Nazi Germany.

The most important political event of the observed period was the meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin in Alaska. It can now be stated with certainty that it led nowhere. The Russian side used it to the maximum for propaganda purposes and presented demands that are impossible to fulfill. Ukraine is supposed to give up parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions that have not yet been conquered, and in exchange, it would “gain” that Russia would not attack the parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions that have also not yet been conquered.

Donald Trump tried to push Putin into meeting personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and to start direct peace negotiations, but the Kremlin deflected the topic with various excuses. Putin has no interest in immediately ending the war, and he proves that practically on a daily basis. After meeting with Putin, a meeting between Trump and Zelensky and European leaders took place in Washington. And while during the summit in Alaska the Russians restrained themselves in their attacks, on Tuesday, August 19th, during negotiations in Washington, they sent a “signal” in the form of a large-scale attack of 207 drones, 5 ballistic missiles, and 5 cruise missiles. The target was oil and gas infrastructure near the cities of Kremenchuk and Lubny. These are the same types of targets Ukraine strikes on Russian territory. However, near Kremenchuk, the Russians used cluster munitions, which dispersed large quantities of submunitions, and the local government had to issue a special warning to residents.

During the night of Wednesday, August 20th, the Russians launched 574 drones and 40 other missiles, mostly targeting the western regions of Ukraine. Several cruise missiles struck the Mukachevo factory of the American-Singaporean company Flex, which produces consumer electronics. In the city of Sumy, the local university was repeatedly struck. Earlier, its dormitories were destroyed; this time the library burned down.

The worst attack came during the night of Wednesday, August 27th. The target of 598 drones and 31 ballistic or cruise missiles was mainly the capital, Kyiv. One apartment building in the Darnytskyi district was struck in quick succession by two Iskander-K missiles. It was not a random hit from debris of downed drones; both missiles hit the exact same spot. The attack claimed at least 25 lives, some victims were found by rescuers in the ruins of the building only after several days. Images of a large stuffed teddy bear, also pulled from the rubble, went around the world. Little Angelina received it for her second birthday. She died in the Russian airstrike along with her mother, Nadia. She did not live to see her third birthday.

 On the ground front, Ukrainian armed forces continued pushing the occupiers out of the Sumy region. The Russian offensive in this area completely failed. On the other hand, the Russians managed to advance near Pokrovsk, though at the cost of heavy losses. A serious breakthrough appeared to occur in the first half of the observed period near the city of Dobropillia. There, the Russians managed to penetrate behind Ukrainian lines unnoticed. However, it was only infantry without heavy equipment and without supplies. The Russian plan was for them to be resupplied by drone drops, but that failed. The Russians created a 16 km long but very narrow salient, which the Ukrainians immediately cut off in several places through counterattacks, creating three pockets where the Russian soldiers were encircled and gradually eliminated.

Apartment building in Kyiv after it was hit by two Iskander-K missiles.

Victims were searched for in the rubble of the apartment building for several days

Rescuers found a large stuffed bear in the ruins of the house in Kyiv.

The bear belonged to two-year-old Angelina, who died along with her mother Nadia.

Russian Refineries Under Fire

Ukraine has repeatedly attacked Russian refineries, fuel depots, and similar facilities in the past. During the observed period, however, it launched an unprecedented campaign against Russian oil infrastructure. It thereby imposed its own “sanctions” on the sector that provides Putin’s regime with money for war. The results began to show through reduced exports of refined fuel, rising fuel prices at gas stations in Russia, and eventually a total shortage in more and more Russian regions. Where there was still some gasoline available at gas stations, long lines of waiting cars formed. We can reveal that this scenario continued into the following month. We’ll talk about that in the following article. During August, Ukrainian drones struck at least 10 refineries, most of them repeatedly. These attacks disabled 21 percent of the total capacity of Russian refineries.

 During the night of Saturday, August 2nd, the refineries in Ryazan and Kuybyshev near Samara were hit. The following night, Sunday, August 3rd, a fuel depot in Adler near Sochi was struck. On Thursday, August 7th, it was the Afipsky refinery near Krasnodar, and on Saturday, August 9th, the refinery in Slavyansk-na-Kubani. Both had already been hit before and now suffered further damage. On Sunday, August 10th, the target was the refinery near Saratov and also in Komi, in the far north of Russia. A fuel depot was damaged there.

During the night to Thursday, August 14th, the Lukoil refinery near Volgograd was hit again and had to completely shut down the operations. On Friday, August 15th, Ukrainian kamikaze drones caused a fire at the Syzran refinery, which had also been targeted before. On Sunday, August 17th, another explosion occurred at the Lukoil refinery near Volgograd, and drones hit it a third time on Tuesday, August 19th. On Sunday, August 24th, the Syzran refinery was again struck, along with a terminal at the Ust-Luga port, which is key for Russian gas exports by sea. On Thursday, August 28th, the Afipsky refinery near Krasnodar and the Kuybyshev refinery near Samara were again targeted by drones. Fires broke out at both, and the latter had to completely shut down the operations. On Saturday, August 30th, the refineries near Samara and in Syzran were hit again.

 During the observed period, the worst affected was the refinery in Novoshakhtinsk. It burned for almost a week and was only extinguished on Tuesday, August 26th. 400 firefighters and 150 pieces of equipment were deployed. In surrounding villages, due to the firefighting efforts, 35,000 people were left without water supply for several days.

 In August, Ukraine struck at least 10 Russian refineries.

Russian refineries burning.

Druzhba Oil Pipeline

 Not only refineries were systematically targeted. During the observed period, the Druzhba oil pipeline, which carries Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, was repeatedly hit. Even in the fourth year of the war, these two countries continue to take Russian raw materials, even though the rest of Europe has tried to cut them off.

Attacks on the Druzhba pipeline occurred on Thursday, August 14th, in the Bryansk region, on Monday, August 18th, and on Friday, August 22nd, when the Unecha pumping station near Bryansk was hit. Both Hungary and Slovakia officially protested the Ukrainian attacks. Kyiv responded by saying they should address Russia, because if not for the war started by Moscow, no one would be attacking Druzhba. Both states also complained to the European Commission, which responded that Ukrainian attacks in no way threaten European energy security. Hungary, in response to the attacks on Druzhba, imposed sanctions on Thursday, August 28th, against the commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, Robert Brovdi, who is, ironically, an ethnic Hungarian. Budapest tried to ban him from entering the Schengen area of the European Union, but Poland declared it would welcome him at any time. And Brovdi’s response? On Friday, August 29th, his drones attacked the Transneft-Druzhba pumping station near Bryansk…

 On Tuesday, August 19th, Ukrainian drones also repeatedly hit a Russian fuel train near occupied Tokmak. Several tank cars burned. On Thursday, August 21st, Ukrainians hit a second Russian supply train, this time near the Dzhankoi base in Crimea.

 Attack by Ukrainian FPV drones on a Russian fuel train.

Strikes on Ships on Both Sides

 After a longer pause, there were also attacks on ships at sea. Ukrainian forces achieved a spectacular feat when they hit a Russian ship in the Caspian Sea for the very first time. The cargo vessel Port Olja-4 was destroyed by Ukrainian special forces in an airstrike using drones. The ship was used to transport ammunition and drone components from Iran. On August 1st, it was anchored near Iranian shores; on August 12th, it set sail for Russia, and on Thursday, August 14th, it was hit near the port of Olja in the Astrakhan region. The captain’s bridge at the rear of the vessel burned, and it partially sank in shallow water. The wreck now blocks other ships entering or leaving the port. Unofficial Russian channels later reported that Ukrainian drones also hit and seriously damaged port infrastructure.

Port Olja-4 ship sunk in the Caspian Sea

 On Thursday, August 28th, a Ukrainian drone airstrike also hit and damaged a Russian Buyan-M class missile corvette in the Sea of Azov, near the Crimean coast. The relatively small drones could not sink the ship, but their operators focused on causing the corvette as much damage as possible. They hit, for example, the radar and other sensors on the mast and the captain’s bridge.

 On the same day, the Russians also managed to hit a Ukrainian ship. They used a naval drone that collided with the reconnaissance vessel Simferopol in the Danube Delta. According to the Russians, the 55-meter-long, 3,500-ton ship was sunk. The Ukrainian side only stated that two sailors died and several others were injured. The question is what kind of naval drone the Russians used. According to some sources, it could have been an originally Ukrainian drone that the Russians had captured.

 While trying to seize another Ukrainian naval drone that had been disabled by jamming systems, an incident occurred which was reported by Ukrainian military intelligence on Friday, August 22nd. According to them, during an attack on the port of Novorossiysk, one Ukrainian drone was suppressed by electronic warfare. The Russians sent five elite Marines divers to retrieve it. However, while trying to manipulate the drone, it exploded and killed all the divers.

 Another drone-related incident on the Russian side falls into the category of funny stories. In Tatarstan, after a series of Ukrainian attacks, alert citizens reported on Wednesday, August 13th, a group of uniformed men launching drones from a car in a field. The local police responded promptly and detained the group. Some propaganda channels immediately reported the arrest of Ukrainian saboteurs. However, it turned out to be Russian cadets who were learning to operate Russian Orlan reconnaissance drones…

 Russians arrested a group of "Ukrainian saboteurs." They turned out to be Russian cadets training with Russian drones.

New Weapons

 Ukraine is attacking Russian refineries with drones, constantly developing new types. These are inexpensive devices that don’t need top-tier specifications. Refineries are highly flammable targets, and a small amount of explosives is enough to trigger a massive fire. Russia’s vast size is working against it this time. It simply cannot cover its entire territory with air defense, and Ukrainians plan drone routes to exploit gaps in that defense. When they send a large number of drones at a refinery, some of them get through — and as already mentioned, a small explosion in a flammable target is enough.

 However, Ukraine is also working on weapons with far more destructive power. During the observed period, it introduced its own cruise missile, the FP-5 Flamingo. It is powered by an Ivchenko AI-25TL jet engine, also installed in L-39 Albatros airplane. The missile weighs 6 tons, of which 1.1 tons is the warhead. It is thus intended for more resistant targets. The Flamingo is ground-launched, has a top speed of 950 km/h, and a range of up to 3,000 km. The issue may be quantity: Ukraine is currently able to produce only one missile per day, though production is expected to ramp up to seven units daily. The Ukrainian armed forces have released several videos showing the launch of these missiles at Russian targets, although so far, these have only been isolated strikes.

Ukrainian Flamingo missile.

 Another new weapon entering Ukraine’s arsenal is the American ERAM (Extended Range Attack Munitions) cruise missile. These began rushed development in 2024 based on experience from the Ukrainian battlefield. They are meant to be affordable and simple but effective missiles. Ukrainians can launch them from F-16s and MiG-29s. The missile carries a 227 kg warhead, flies at 700 km/h, and has a range of 240 to 460 km depending on launch altitude. At the end of August, U.S. President Trump approved the sale of up to 3,350 ERAM missiles to Ukraine. The first ten are expected to be delivered for testing in early October this year.

 Ukraine also received a new reinforcement during the observed period from the Czech Republic. Volunteers from the “Gift for Putin” initiative delivered a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter to Ukraine, funded by donations from citizens of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and other countries. More than 20,000 donors contributed to the total sum of 72 million Czech crowns (2.9 million euros). The fundraiser began in November 2023 and concluded in March 2025. Ukraine then paid for the helicopter's transport and preparation for service. The helicopter, now named Čestmír, is already in Ukraine. It was taken over by the military intelligence service GUR, which already operates two other Black Hawk helicopters. All three are older UH-60A models that have undergone complete overhauls. GUR has used these helicopters for deploying special forces behind enemy lines.

Combat Losses

 During the observed period, the Ukrainian Air Force lost one aircraft — tragically, along with the pilot. During the vee hours of Saturday, August 23rd, Major Serhiy Bondar took off in a MiG-29 fighter jet from the Pryluky base in the Chernihiv region. After completing a combat mission, the plane crashed at 2:54 AM during landing at the Cherkasy base. The aircraft went down near the runway.

 Major Bondar was the deputy commander of the 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade, which bears the honorary name “Ghost of Kyiv.” He was one of the most experienced pilots of this unit. He graduated from the Kharkiv Air Force Institute in 2000. After some time, he left military aviation and lectured at the National Aviation University. However, after the Russian invasion began in 2022, he did not hesitate and returned to military aviation. He regained his flying skills on the L-39 Albatros and later flew MiG-29 fighters with the 40th brigade. He participated in air defense and ground attack missions. He died in a MiG-29MU1 with tail number “white 20.”

Ukrainian Air Force Major Serhiy Bondar died on August 23rd in a MiG-29 fighter.

 The Russian side also lost one fighter jet in the air. This occurred on Thursday, August 14th, when a Sukhoi Su-30SM of the Russian Naval Aviation crashed into the Black Sea southeast of Snake Island. The cause of the crash is unknown, and the crew of two did not survive.

 On the ground, Russia lost at least two Mi-8 helicopters, which were hit by drones on Saturday, August 30th, at the Simferopol base in occupied Crimea. Their destruction was confirmed by a video from FPV drones of Ukrainian military intelligence, by a video of a large fire shot by local residents, and later by satellite images. The Ukrainian side also claimed the destruction of one Mi-24 helicopter, but this has not been confirmed.

Russian Mi-8 helicopters destroyed by Ukrainian drones on August 30th at the Simferopol base in Crimea.

Series of photos of a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet published by the 114th Tactical Aviation Brigade

A shot of a Ukrainian MiG-29 nicely shows the digital camouflage.

A two-seater MiG-29UBS (original bort number 1303) delivered from Slovakia is still flying in Ukrainian service.

In spring 2025, the first Mirage 2000-5F aircraft from France were delivered. Now the first clear full shot in Ukrainian service has appeared.

A new image of Ukrainian F-16s also appeared during the observed period.

Ex-Czech Mi-24s are very effective against drones.