Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Catalog of Significant Occurrences, 1,300 Days Mark | Armed Forces Updates

This is the current situation as of Tuesday, September 16:

Fighting:

• Ukrainian drone strikes have caused the deaths of two women in Golovchino village, Belgorod region, Russia, according to state news agency TASS.
• A man injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in April succumbed to his injuries in hospital, reports TASS.
• Russia has shot down 82 Ukrainian drones over a 24-hour period, according to TASS.
• Russian forces have captured Olhivske village in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, the Ministry of Defence has reported.
• Ukraine has shot down 59 of 84 Russian drones overnight, with Russia also launching three guided missiles, said the Air Force.
• The commander of Ukraine’s drone forces, Robert Brovdi, reported that a Starlink outage affected the entire front line for about 30 minutes starting at 7:28 am local time (04:28 GMT).

Regional Security:

• Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced that Poland’s State Protection Service had “neutralized a drone” near government and presidential buildings; two Belarus citizens were detained and an investigation is ongoing.
• Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom said the UK will deploy fighter jets to Poland, expressing that Russia’s aggressive behavior is a “direct threat” to European security.
• The UK Foreign Office has called recent Russian drone incursions “utterly unacceptable” and summoned the Russian Ambassador.
• It further stated that Russia’s aggression only reinforces NATO’s unity.

• Russia and Belarus continued joint military exercises, dubbed Zapad 2025, launching a Kalibr missile from a submarine, reports Interfax.
• US military officers observed the drills in Belarus.
• Denmark’s defense minister participated in a military exercise in Greenland with his Icelandic and Norwegian counterparts.
• Minister Troels Lund Poulsen stated that the current security climate necessitates a strengthened military presence in the Arctic and North Atlantic.

Tariffs and Sanctions:

• US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the Trump administration will not introduce new tariffs on Chinese goods regarding China’s purchases of Russian oil, unless European countries implement similar measures.
• “We expect the Europeans to do their part now,” Bessent said.
• Russia has warned against any European state that attempts to seize its assets following reports that the European Union is seeking to utilize frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine.