Euronews: Russia showcases its destructive missiles in military drills with Belarus while Ukraine announces that Russia’s human losses
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that it had launched a Zircon hypersonic missile toward a target in the Barents Sea, as part of joint military drills with Belarus, as Sukhoi 34 fighter jets also carried out strikes as part of the same drills.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said the drills, known as Zapad (West), kicked off on September 12 with the aim of improving military coordination and command in the event of an attack on Russia or Belarus.
Moscow and Minsk stressed that the exercises are defensive in nature and don’t target any NATO member.
The alliance, however, announced a counter-operation called Eastern Sentry after Russian drones entered Polish airspace on September 9 and 10.
The Russian Ministry of Defense published a video of the Northern Fleet’s Admiral Golovko frigate launching a Zircon missile vertically before it flew off at an angle toward the horizon.
It explained that monitoring data confirmed the target was destroyed by a direct hit, noting the participation of long-range anti-submarine aircraft, in addition to Su-34 fighters, which conducted training exercises to strike ground targets.
Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in 2019 that the Zircon missile is capable of flying at nine times the speed of sound and hitting sea or land targets at a distance of over 1,000 kilometers.
According to Russian media, the missile, known locally as the 3M22 Zircon and referred to by NATO as the SS-N-33, has a range of between 400 and 1,000 kilometers, and its warhead weighs 300–400 kilograms.
Russian authorities announced on Sunday that Ukrainian drones targeted the Kirishi oil refinery in northwestern Russia, one of the country’s largest, sparking a fire after debris from one of the downed drones fell.
The operation comes as the drone war between the two sides intensifies, with Kyiv announcing strikes against Russian refineries and oil pipelines, while Russian drones have crashed inside NATO-member Poland.
This comes as major powers discuss ways to end the conflict, which is the bloodiest in Europe since World War II.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of Leningrad Region, said that air defenses shot down three drones in the Kirishi area, noting that the fire caused by the debris was extinguished without any casualties.
Ukrainian drone command confirmed the attack, describing it as a “successful strike,” however, Reuters noted that it was unable to independently verify the extent of the damage to the refinery.
Surgutneftegaz’s Kirishneftorgsintez refinery is Russia’s second-largest refinery, processing approximately 17.7 million tons annually (equivalent to 355,000 barrels per day), representing approximately 6.4% of the country’s total production.
In a related development, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that air defenses destroyed more than 80 Ukrainian drones overnight.
The President of the Federal Bashkortostan republic also announced that a local oil company would continue production normally despite being attacked by drones on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian General Staff announced, according to Ukrinform, that the total losses of Russian forces since the start of the war on February 24, 2022, until September 14, 2025, amounted to 1,094,610 soldiers, including 880 in the past 24 hours.
The statement added that Russian forces also lost 11,184 tanks, 23,267 armored combat vehicles, 32,749 artillery systems, 1,487 multiple rocket launchers, 1,217 air defense systems, 422 aircraft, 341 helicopters, and more than 59,000 tactical drones.
The losses also included 3,718 cruise missiles, 28 ships and boats, one submarine, more than 61,000 vehicles and fuel tanks, and approximately 3,964 pieces of special equipment.
The Ukrainian agency indicated that the figures are subject to update.
