Transneft has told producers they may have to cut their output because of attacks on pipelines and ports, Reuters says. What we know on day 1,302

Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has warned producers they may have to cut output following Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries, Reuters has reported, citing industry sources. Ukrainian drones have frequently hit Russia’s oil plants, cutting refining capacity by up to a fifth, and damaged ports including Ust-Luga and Primorsk, Ukrainian military officials and Russian industry sources have said. Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it had struck the Saratov oil refinery in Russia during an overnight attack.

Transneft, which handles more than 80% of all the oil extracted in Russia, has in recent days restricted oil firms’ ability to store oil in its pipeline system, two industry sources close to Russian oil firms told Reuters. Transneft has also warned producers it may have to accept less oil if its infrastructure sustains further damage, the two sources said. Transneft dismissed Reuters’ reporting as “fake news”. The Russian government relies heavily on oil and gas revenue. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, has said attacks on Russian oil infrastructure are “the sanctions that work the fastest”.

The European Commission will propose speeding up the phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports, the EU executive’s head, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday after a call with the US president, Donald Trump. “Russia’s war economy, sustained by revenues from fossil fuels, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine,” she said. Von der Leyen announced the commission would soon present its 19th package of sanctions aimed at Russia’s war effort – targeting crypto, banks, and energy.

Donald Trump on Tuesday said Zelenskyy will “have to get going and make a deal” while Europe “have to stop buying oil from Russia”. Europe has in fact greatly reduced its purchase of Russian oil and gas, though two big holdouts are Hungary and Slovakia, whose rightwing prime ministers are both friendly with Putin and Trump.

A Guardian editorial on Tuesday said: “Those looking on the bright side in Brussels hope that Mr Trump’s pressure may persuade Maga-friendly governments in Hungary and Slovakia to end their deep dependence on Russian energy imports. That is extremely unlikely to happen, as Mr Trump and his advisers must know.” The editorial listed how Trump’s promises and threats concerning the Ukraine war have all failed to produce results – including how “an 8 August deadline for Mr Putin to agree to a ceasefire somehow morphed into a red carpet welcome in Alaska”.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that so far in September alone Russia had launched more than 3,500 drones and nearly 190 missiles against Ukraine. A Russian drone, missile or glide bomb hit an educational building in Kharkiv city’s southern Slobidskyi district on Tuesday. The regional prosecutor’s office posted video of the strike, saying it injured three men and one woman. Some reports described the building as the pharmaceutical university.