A Ukrainian drone strike killed Russian Major General Anton Grunis in eastern Ukraine on September 12, Ukrainian military officials confirmed. Grunis, who had recently been awarded the Gold Star Hero of Russia, was reportedly the seventh Russian commander eliminated by Ukrainian drone forces, according to Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi. His death was also acknowledged by Russian commander Apti Alaudinov.
Grunis had been involved in the contested fighting over the Donetsk city of Kostiantynivka. Earlier this year, Grunis personally reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his forces had helped capture the city and was praised for his efforts. However, the actual control of Kostiantynivka remains heavily disputed. The US-based Institute for the Study of War indicated Russian forces had only infiltrated parts of the city but had not fully secured it. Analysts describe Moscow’s claims as part of an information campaign aimed at portraying Ukrainian defenses as collapsing.
Meanwhile, Russian airstrikes on Thursday caused damage in Kyiv and the Black Sea port city of Odesa, resulting in injuries to at least three people. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, reported debris falling near warehouses and a petrol station. In Odesa, a 19-story apartment building was struck, injuring two adults and a child.
On Wednesday, Russian drone attacks targeted a passenger bus near the frontline city of Nikopol, killing five civilians and wounding seven others, according to local officials. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy condemned the strikes as acts of brutality lacking any military justification. Additionally, drones attacked a passenger train in the southern Mykolaiv region three times; although passengers were safely evacuated, a locomotive was hit in Kovel near the Polish border.
Other casualties from Russian shelling on Wednesday included one fatality in the southern Kherson region and one in Odesa. Further attacks injured more than a dozen people in Sumy and Kropyvnytskyi. A Ukrainian drone strike reportedly killed one person in the Russian-held Donetsk region, while Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s Belgorod region injured six civilians.
Polish authorities recovered a Russian Gerbera-2 drone from the Baltic Sea near the village of Rusinowo. The drone, recovered on Monday, was equipped with explosives and believed lost during Russian test maneuvers. Polish defence officials are investigating potential legal actions related to the incident, which posed risks to public safety.
In Russia, the government extended its ban on diesel exports through the end of October amid fuel shortages attributed to Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries. Market data suggest that three of Russia’s largest diesel-producing refineries have significantly reduced or halted output following recent drone attacks, with Rosneft-owned facilities in Syzran and Saratov reportedly ceasing processing this month.
In other developments, the British Ministry of Defence reported the death of Major Paul Wilks, a 40-year-old intelligence officer, who died in a road accident in Ukraine on Saturday. Wilks, commissioned from Sandhurst in 2012, served in the Intelligence Corps and was recognized for his intellect and dedication. Britain maintains a small number of personnel in Ukraine providing security to diplomats and support to Ukrainian armed forces.
Additionally, a warehouse in Kyiv storing props and costumes for Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s former television company, Kvartal 95, was destroyed by a Russian strike. The company stated that its staff were unharmed but lost numerous items used over two decades for productions. Zelenskyy co-founded Kvartal 95 in 2003 and previously worked in Russian television before ceasing operations in Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea.