"This area is roughly 3,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border," said Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center. "Until now, Siberia and the Arctic regions in Russia were considered safe. The situation has changed, and a region extremely important for Russia's fossil fuel production — where about 90 percent of Russia's natural gas and 19 percent of its oil is produced — is now within Ukraine's strike range."

Ukraine's long‑range strikes also hit oil refineries in Perm Krai and in Ryazan and Saratov regions, according to a September 11 assessment published by the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center. Ukraine also struck a petrochemical plant in the Republic of Bashkortostan and an oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai.

Energy sites struck across regions

Among the military targets Ukraine attacked were the Novorossiysk naval base, airfields in Crimea and Krasnodar Krai, and air defense systems in Rostov region.

Russia, for its part, continued intense long‑range strikes on Ukrainian cities. Before U.S. special envoys arrived in Kyiv this week, Russia struck the city for more than a week straight, and from September 1–4 air raid alerts in Kyiv lasted five to thirteen hours per day.

Targets included strategic and critical infrastructure sites as well as food and medical supply warehouses. Apartments, stores, vehicles and other civilian objects were also hit. On the night of September 8, Russia again launched ballistic missiles and loitering munitions toward Kyiv, ending a brief pause in attacks during the U.S. delegation's visit.

Power restored to 900,000 homes

Russia struck targets in at least fourteen Ukrainian regions, causing power outages in at least eight. Ukrainian energy crews carried out extensive repairs during the first week of September, restoring electricity to more than 900,000 households in Odesa, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kyiv regions.

During week 237 of Russia's full‑scale war, U.S. presidential envoys met with both Russian and Ukrainian leadership.

Ahead of visits by U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steven Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv, Ukraine and Russia halted long‑range strikes on each other's capitals. Ukraine also sought a frontline cease‑fire, but Russia refused.

During the Moscow meeting, U.S. envoys presented their views on how the war could be brought to an end. Russia responded with its own narrative about the front, claimed military gains, and expressed confidence that its war aims would be achieved. Russia again insisted that peace requires addressing the "root causes" of the conflict, which Moscow defines as the alleged "illegitimacy" and "unacceptability" of Ukraine's current leadership.

Europe joins Kyiv peace talks

The U.S. envoys then traveled to Kyiv, where several rounds of meetings took place, including one involving representatives from the U.K., Germany and France. President Zelenskyy said the U.S. envoys offered good ideas for ending the war, but it remains unclear whether they can be implemented. Still, Ukraine supports the U.S. proposal to accelerate talks and continue them in a trilateral format, with European participation considered essential. Zelenskyy would like to restart trilateral talks as early as September–October, though no concrete plans exist yet.

Meanwhile, tensions between Germany and Russia continued. In response to Germany's actions following the failed terrorist attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport, Russia decided to close the German consulate general in St. Petersburg and the Goethe‑Institut branches in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Germany of wanting to start a war and warned that Russia would draw its own conclusions.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul described Lavrov's remarks as an attempt to influence German society and a sign of Russia's desperation that a war planned to last only a few days is now in its fifth year.

On the Russia‑Ukraine front, there were around 250 clashes per day last week, an 11 percent increase from the previous week.

"The most intense fighting took place in Donetsk region, in the Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka areas," Col. Kiviselg said Friday at the Estonian Defense Ministry briefing. Other hotspots included the southern Slobozhanske area in Kharkiv region, the Lyman direction in Donetsk region, and the Hulyaipole direction in Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukraine advances toward Lyman

Ukrainian counterattacks occurred mainly in Kharkiv region toward Borova and Kupiansk, and in Donetsk region toward Lyman and Sloviansk.

Russia lost roughly 1,400 soldiers per day.

Last week was the second consecutive week in which Russian forces lost more than 10,000 fighters, and total losses surpassed 1.5 million during the week. Russia's main effort remained focused on the Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka directions, aiming to reach the borders of Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk regions and to regain lost positions in Dnipropetrovsk region.

In recent days, several reports have emerged of Ukrainian gains toward Lyman. Ukraine has refrained from issuing official statements for operational security reasons, but available information clearly indicates Ukrainian advances and improving conditions toward Sloviansk.

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