Aerial War in Ukraine - The Battle for Fuel
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.
Miro Barič
The Battle for Fuel
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.
Aerial War in Ukraine
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.
UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter named Čestmír purchase by Czech fundraisers.
UKRAINE
INFO Eduard28
October 2025