Ukraine Сrisis Media Center

22/09/2026

🎙 On September 23 at 4:00 PM, a discussion will take place as part of UCMC’s special project, “Geopolitical Dialogues with Valeriy Chaly.”

The guest will be Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Chairman of the Kyiv Security Forum and Prime Minister of Ukraine (2014–2016).

📌 Join the livestream:

A new episode of UCMC's special project "Geopolitical Dialogues wit...

22/09/2026

⚠️Russia stockpiles ballistic missiles for winter strikes on Ukraine's power grid, Bloomberg News says

Since August, Russia has significantly reduced the use of ballistic missiles against Ukraine in favor of jet-
powered drones, suggesting that Moscow may be stockpiling the weapons for strikes on Ukraine's power and
heating infrastructure during a cold period, which usually starts in late October or early November, Bloomberg
News said on Monday.

💥Those rockets inflict some of the heaviest damage on Ukraine's infrastructure, including energy facilities.

🤝European allies are already pitching in with what they have, including spare parts for power plants and heating
equipment, according to a person familiar with the efforts who asked not to be identified as the process is not
public.

🚀Even more effective would be more interceptors for US-made Patriot air-defense systems that are desperately
needed to counter Russian ballistic missiles, the article reads.

22/09/2026

🪖For most of the world, the partisan movement is a concept from history books, associated with the events of the Second World War. For Ukraine, it is not merely a distant date on the calendar — it is a reality that continues to this day. In the temporarily occupied territories, Ukrainians are resisting the enemy, refusing to let them feel like masters on our land, and helping Ukraine’s Defense Forces bring the liberation of their cities and villages closer.

🇺🇦🙏🏻Back then, partisans operated in forests and underground networks; today, Ukrainian resistance is taking new forms — from providing vital information to acts of sabotage and supporting our military. It is an invisible front to many, but an extremely important one, where every deliberate act against occupation matters. We thank everyone who, behind enemy lines, continues to stand for Ukrainian land and bring its liberation closer.

22/09/2026

🗳️Participants of Russia's war on Ukraine running from United Russia party take one-fifth of Duma seats in the
election

Eighty-six participants of Russia's war on Ukraine, candidates from the ruling party, United Russia, made it into
the Duma, Vladimir Yakushev, Secretary of the party's General Council was quoted as saying by Russian state-
controlled media. The parliamentary election in Russia was held between September 18 and September 20.

🗣️"If we take participants of the special military operation, we have around 86 of them. That's a serious
contribution to the State Duma. Two members of the Young Guard (United Russia's youth wing — edit.) also
won the election and will get the seats," Yakushev said.

📊Yakushev said the voter turnout had exceeded that from 2021. United Russia leads the party-list ballot in all
regions, he added.

🔻RIA Novosti Russian news agency later withdrew the news item about 86 combatants winning the seats, saying
the United Russia party asked them to remove the news piece to revise the details.

🏛️United Russia received 355 seats in the Duma, a record number in all years when it campaigned. The party is in
the lead with 57.83 per cent of votes and leads in 208 of 225 single-mandate constituencies, RIA Novosti said
on Monday.

📈The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) received 13.81 per cent of the vote and secured 40
seats. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) received 8.98 per cent of the vote and secured 25 seats.
The Novye Lyudi (New People) party received 7.96 per cent of the vote and secured 20 seats. The Spravedlivaya
Rossiya (A Just Russia) party received less than 5 per cent of the vote, but still had a chance to overcome the
five per cent threshold. It secured four seats in the Duma. The Rodina (Fatherland) party received one seat,
according to preliminary data.

⏳Final election results will not be tallied before September 25.

📜The Duma is the lower house of the Russian parliament, called the Federal Assembly. It has 450 deputies
elected for a five-year term.

🎖️Dmitry Medvedev who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and head of United Russia earlier
said that several hundreds of war participants will run in the autumn election at all levels, including to the State
Duma.

⚖️The Ukrainian Parliament passed on September 17 an address to foreign parliaments and governments,
international organizations and parliamentary assemblies, calling on them to condemn the illegal election to
Russia's Duma in the occupied Ukrainian territory and do not recognize its results.

🚫Ukraine's Foreign Ministry urged the international community on September 18 not to recognize elections to
the State Duma and regional parliaments that Russia also illegally held in Ukraine's occupied territory.

21/09/2026

🇺🇦In the special project "More Than Just Cities. A Code of Resilience," the Ukraine Crisis Media Center continues to explore the depth of Ukraine's regions through their history, cultural heritage, and contribution to the fight for independence. This episode is dedicated to the Sumy region — a land with a thousand-year history, notable landmarks, military glory, and a distinctive tradition of resistance.

🏛The Sumy region is known for the 17th-century Holy Resurrection Cathedral and the Trinity Cathedral in Sumy, the Sukhanov-Sumovsky estate, and the Petropavlivske cemetery-museum with its mysterious eight-meter pyramid. Here you can see the monument to Yaroslavna in Putyvl, recall the ancient history of Romny as a city of Kyivan Rus', and visit the world's first monumental monument to Taras Shevchenko, unveiled in Romny in 1918. Hlukhiv was once the capital of Hetman Ukraine, and the Sumy region was the site of one of the most notable victories of the Ukrainian army over the Muscovite army — the Battle of Konotop in 1659, in which the forces of Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky fought alongside their Crimean Tatar allies.

🪖With the start of the full-scale invasion, the Sumy region was among the first to bear the brunt of the Russian army's assault. Towns and villages across the region suffered occupation, destruction, and losses, yet local communities quickly organized resistance. The example of Trostianets vividly shows how civilians, volunteers, and local initiatives came together to support the military and save lives. Volunteer organizations raised millions of hryvnias, provided medical and military supplies, and helped evacuate residents from border areas.

🕊Historical memory, the capacity for self-organization, mutual aid, and a readiness to resist have become an essential part of the Sumy region's resilience — a region that, despite its proximity to the border and constant threats, continues to defend Ukraine, support its Defense Forces, and preserve its cultural and historical heritage.

⏯️Watch the new video to learn more about the Sumy region, its history, and its contribution to Ukraine's resilience!

🌐The video was created within the framework of the project "Support to Strengthening Strategic Communication as an Integral Component of Resilience Building in Ukraine," in partnership with PractNet, Estonia, with support from the European Union.

21/09/2026

❗️On September 23 at 11:00 AM, we invite you to a press conference with the team of the documentary film "The Last Message" on the occasion of its theatrical premiere in Ukraine. Together with directors Andriy Voloshyn and Oleksiy Lebedev, the film's protagonist Kelsey Kimberlin, and other members of the team, we will discuss the story of an American-Ukrainian singer who, after the death of her cousin at the front, sets out on a journey along the front line — from Mykolaiv and Kherson to Sviatohirsk and Izium.

🌏Join us to learn more about how the film was made without state or grant funding, its festival journey and over 40 awards, as well as its Ukrainian and American theatrical release:

Press Conference: "The Last Message" Documentary Team Ahead of Ukra...

19/09/2026

📊Weekly roundup. Ukraine resists Russia's invasion. Days 1,664-1,668

This week, fighting continued to rage along the front lines. Russia continued to pummel Ukraine's rear areas
with missiles and drones. The intensity and duration of the attacks on Kyiv has declined. Yet Russian aerial
strikes continue to ravage the city's civilian infrastructure, including apartment buildings, gas stations and
warehouses.

💥Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv and other cities overnight into Thursday. It
extensively used ballistic missiles in the attack. More than 10 sites sustained damage in the capital's four
districts. An urban train station and facilities of the city's water utility, Kyivvodokanal, were damaged.

⚔️Ukraine's central battlefield achievement this week is the Vivaldi operation that saw Ukrainian forces mop up
75 square kilometers of land and deoccupy 10 square kilometers in the north of Donetsk region. The Ukrainian
military struck a Su-24 aircraft at the Saky air base in Crimea early in the week. Ukraine's Unmanned Systems
Forces took out Russian Major General Anton Grunis in occupied part of Donetsk region on Saturday,
September 12, the branch's commander, Major Robert "Magyar" Brovdi said on Wednesday. Ukraine's defense
forces also struck a 92N6 multifunctional radar system, which is part of an S-400 Triumf anti-aircraft missile
system, in Sochi in Russia's Krasnodar region between Sunday and Monday. The Ukrainian military struck an air
base in Russia's Rostov-on-Don and an oil refinery in Yaroslavl overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyi confirmed on Thursday. An An-12 aircraft, two An-26s and three helicopters were damaged in the
attack on the air base, he added.

🕊️In the diplomatic realm this week, much was said about an energy truce likely brokered by U.S. President
Donald Trump. Yet no ceasefire is actually in place. In an interview with CBC News aired on Tuesday, Ukrainian
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi rejected comments from U.S. envoy Jared Kushner about finding a "win-win"
solution to the war with Russia.

🇪🇺The EU will give "our strongest-ever support to Ukraine over the toughest winter of the war," European
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in her State of the Union address on Wednesday. The U.S.
House passed the sweeping Russia sanctions bill championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham on
Wednesday, sending the legislation to the White House for President Trump's signature.

⚠️Russian drone strikes gas station close to Polish border. A Russian drone struck a gas station in Ukraine's
Volynska region, four kilometers from the Polish border and close to the Dorohusk-Yahodyn border crossing
point on Thursday. Speaking at a cabinet meeting that day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that there
was a "massive explosion" there, according to Polish broadcaster RMF24.

🗣️"This September 17 is a special day, including in terms of today's security situation," Tusk said in remarks
translated from Polish, referring to the Soviet Union's attack on Poland on September 17, 1939.

18/09/2026

🇺🇸U.S. House passes Russia sanctions bill championed by Graham

The U.S. House passed the sweeping Russia sanctions bill long championed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham
on Wednesday, sending the legislation to the White House for President Donald Trump's signature.

💰The bill lets the president impose 100 per cent tariffs on top buyers of Russian oil and gas or on countries that
help Russia evade sanctions.

⚖️The legislation targets Russia's energy and defense industries, banks and officials as well as its shadow fleet of
tankers. It also extends the actual restrictive measures on Iran.

🗳️The House passed the bill by 262 to 159.

🤝The bill co-authored by Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal passed the Senate last month in a
landslide 86-11 vote.

18/09/2026

✈️Ukraine strikes three An-type aircraft at an air base in Russia's Rostov-on-Don

Ukraine's defense forces struck an air base in Russia's Rostov-on-Don and an oil refinery in Yaroslavl overnight,
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi confirmed on Thursday.

🗣️"Last night, in a joint operation by the Security Service of Ukraine, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Defense
Intelligence of Ukraine, and the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Yaroslavl oil refinery was hit. The Security
Service also carried out a precise strike on a military airfield in Rostov – the damage to an An-12, two An-26s,
and three helicopters has been confirmed," Zelenskyi said in a post to X.

🕊️"There have also been good results in the Black Sea. Every day, we respond to aggression. Russia must choose
peace," he added.

🔥Governor of the Yaroslavl region, Mikhail Yevrayev, said air defenses had shot down 65 drones over the region.
There were no casualties. The strikes damaged an oil refinery and triggered a fire on its territory, he said.
Falling debris blasted windows in several apartment buildings and damaged cars.

📰Russian Telegram channel Astra said a drone attack set the Slavneft – YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl on fire.
Ukraine has targeted the facility a number of times. A previous attack on the plant happened on August 28,
according to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

💥The Exilenova+ Telegram channel said Ukrainian forces had also struck the Rostov-on-Don – Tsentralnyi air
base, triggering a fire and secondary detonation there.

18/09/2026

💧Russia's drone and missile attack disrupts water supply in Kyiv

Russia launched a major drone and missile attack on Kyiv and other cities overnight into Thursday. The drone
attacks on the Ukrainian capital continued into the morning. Four districts in Kyiv — the Solomyanskyi,
Svyatoshynskyi, Dniprovskyi and Podilskyi districts, recorded damage after overnight and morning attacks.

🚀Ukraine's Air Force said Russia had launched 157 drones of various types, 10 Banderol/Dan-T drone-missiles,
four cruise missiles and an unspecified number of ballistic ones toward Ukraine. The missiles included four
Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles, Iskander-M/S-400/KN-23 ballistic missiles and Onyx hypersonic anti-ship
missiles. The unmanned aerial systems included Shahed attack drones and Parodiya decoy drones. Most of the
Shaheds were jet-powered.

🛡️Ukraine's air defenses shot down or otherwise neutralized 124 drones and seven Banderol/Dan-T drone-
missiles. The Ukrainian military did not intercept any of the missiles.

🗺️The main targets for the attack were the regions of Kyiv, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa.

🏘️Russia pummeled Kyiv region throughout the day on Wednesday, overnight and on the morning on Thursday,
head of the Kyiv regional military administration, Tymur Tkachenko said in a Telegram post. The drones and
missiles targeted civilian sites in the districts of Obukhiv, Brovary, Fastiv and Bucha. A total of 33 sites, including
private homes, warehouses, production facilities and transportation sustained damaged. The most affected
communities were the Brovary district with 14 facilities damaged and the Fastiv district with 10 damaged sites,
Tkachenko said.

🏢More than 10 sites, including warehouses, an office building, a non-residential building, apartment buildings
and cars were damaged in Kyiv's four districts — the Dniprovskyi, Solomyanskyi, Darnytskyi and Podilskyi
districts, the Kyiv city military administration said.

🩹Twenty people were injured in the attack on Kyiv, including a 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy. Five of the
injured were taken to hospital.

🚰Kyiv's municipal water utility, Kyivvodokanal, said it had halted water supply to some parts of the capital's left
bank and lowered pressure in some districts on the right bank after an overnight attack. The company said it
had later resumed regular operation.