Hormuz still constrained · Fresh Ukraine drone wave · Ilsky hit · Diesel at records

Three theaters stay hot into Sept 26. Hormuz remains far below peacetime traffic; Russia kept striking Ukrainian cities overnight; diesel holds at record levels.

Middle East: Latest independent tracking (published Friday) still shows Thursday commodity transits at nine versus a ~18-ship 10-day average and ~125/day before the war; AIS-off vessels are undercounted. Week-to-date crude out of Hormuz (Sept 20–) was about 33.7 million barrels on 19 tankers—roughly on pace with the prior week, not a reopen. A midweek US claim of a ~60-vessel day with the highest crude volume since early July remains unverified against sustained traffic recovery.

Ukraine: Overnight into Sept 26 Russia launched about 173 attack drones (Air Force: 134 neutralized by 08:00). Hits were reported across Kyiv region, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia—where two women were killed when a house was destroyed and a child was among the injured. Friday’s Kyiv toll rose to seven killed. Ukraine confirmed a strike on Russia’s Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar (fire reported), continuing the energy exchange after earlier Perm and Novoshakhtinsk hits. No ceasefire.

Europe / US energy: Global diesel remains the nearest household channel. EIA put the US on-highway diesel average at a record ~$6.53/gal for the week ending Sept 21. EU retail diesel has been printing 2026 highs near €2.23/L; Brussels has warned against a reported US idea of a short diesel export ban, which would tighten Europe further since US cargoes have filled much of the gap left by Middle East and Russian product losses.

For USL readers: keep plans current, watch diesel and shipping costs, avoid panic buys. Official reopen talk still outruns tanker traffic.