This timeline of the Russo-Ukrainian war covers the period from 1 September 2025 to 31 December 2025.
September 2025 1 September The HUR claimed to have destroyed two Russian Mi-8 helicopters in a drone attack on Hvardiiske air base near Simferopol, and damaged a military tugboat using a warhead in Sevastopol Bay.
A power substation caught fire after it was struck by falling drone debris in Kropotkin, Krasnodar Krai. The traction station supplied power to the railway transport network between Krasnodar and the Black Sea. Airports at Saratov and Volgograd also shut down operations for several hours due to drone attacks.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have retaken Novoekonomichne in Donetsk Oblast. The ISW assessed Ukrainian forces only managed to take half of the settlement up to Myru Street.
Deepstate UA confirmed Russian forces took village in Donetsk Oblast. An official of the Donetsk People's Republic claimed Russia forces took the villages of , Zeleny Hai and , along the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border.
The SBU charged the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, in absentia with war crimes against Ukrainian soldiers, including ordering his fighters to kill Ukrainian troops on the battlefield rather than take them prisoner and turn POWs into human shields against drone strikes in Grozny.
2 September One person was killed in a Russian drone strike on Bila Tserkva, Kyiv Oblast.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have retaken Udachne in Donetsk Oblast.
Thirteen Ukrainian drones were downed over Rostov-on-Don. Falling unexploded debris forced the evacuation of some 320 people from a high rise apartment. Three people, according to the local governor, were injured including a child, while several buildings were damaged as well.
Geolocated footage showed Russian forces took village, northwest of Kupiansk. Russian forces claimed to have taken the village of and severed the P-79 Kupyansk-Chuhuiv highway, west of Kupiansk, as well as the villages of Fedorivka southwest of Siversk, and Dachne south of Novopavlivka.
3 September
Nine people were killed by Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka. One person was killed in a Russian air attack in Khmelnytskyi Oblast. The Polish military said two drones temporarily entered the country's airspace during a Russian air attack on western and central Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Navy claimed to have destroyed a Russian naval speedboat attempting to unload airborne soldiers at the Tendra Spit, killing seven soldiers and injuring four others.
A Russian court-martial sentenced four Ukrainian POWs captured in Bryansk Oblast to up to 28 years' imprisonment on charges of conducting sabotage and reconnaissance operations against military and industrial facilities within Russia. It also sentenced Telegram channel administrators Heorhiy Levchenko (Ria-Melitopol) and Vladyslav Gershon (Melitopol tse Ukraina) of Melitopol to up to 16 years' and 15 years' imprisonment for spying on Russian positions and distributing anti-Russian propaganda on Telegram.
The Danish government announced production of solid rocket fuel for the Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingo missile will start in Denmark from 1 December 2025.
Geolocated footage showed Russian forces took the village of Oleksandro-Shultyne near Kostiantynivka.
4 September
Two deminers working for the Danish Refugee Council were killed while on duty by a Russian Iskander missile strike near Chernihiv.
Geolocated footage showed Russian forces took village, east of Velykomykhailivka.
5 September
The Ukrainian military claimed to have carried out drone strikes on an oil depot in Luhansk Oblast and Rosneft's largest refinery, located in Ryazan.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed Russian forces took village, northeast of Kostiantynivka.
6 September Geolocated footage indicated Russian troops advanced north of , northeast of Pokrovsk; and in east , southeast of Velykomykhailivka.
The SBU arrested former MP Fedir Khrystenko on charges of treason for collaborating with Russia.
7 September
The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched 810 drones and 13 missiles towards Ukraine, of which 747 drones and four missiles were intercepted. A fire erupted on top of the Ukrainian Government Building housing the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in Pecherskyi District of Kyiv; there were conflicting reports on whether an Iskander missile or a shot-down UAV caused the fire. Five people were killed while several residential buildings were damaged.
Ukrainian drones struck the Stalnoy kon pipeline in Bryansk Oblast and the Ilsky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai. Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi claimed Ukrainian drones struck a pumping station in Vladimir Oblast which feeds diesel into the Moscow Ring Oil Product Pipeline.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Russian forces took the village of , southeast of Velykomykhailivka.
8 September Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets claimed Ukrainian forces retook Bezsalivka near Tyotkino on the Ukrainian border. The Ukrainian military also claimed to have retaken the village of Zarichne in Donetsk Oblast, along the road between Sloviansk and Lyman.
The FSB arrested an Azerbaijani citizen accused of joining an unidentified Ukrainian terrorist organization and conducting surveillance of potential targets in Stavropol and Yessentuki.
The HUR claimed to have disabled three gas and oil pipelines in Zheleznodorozhny, Penza Oblast with a capacity of 2 million barrels a day. At least four explosions were reported. The Kuibyshev-Lysychansk pipeline in Saratov Oblast was claimed to have been disabled, with an "annual capacity of 82 million metric tons". Saratov Central Airport was shut down due to threats of drone strikes.
Ukrainian-made cruise missiles struck three Russian command posts in occupied Donetsk Oblast, including one belonging to the 41st Guards Combined Arms Army, the 20th Motor Rifle Division and "an army-level headquarters" in the in Kuibyshevskyi District, Donetsk.
Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces Robert Brovdi claimed drones from the 14th Unmanned Regiment struck the Vtorovo station in the settlement of Penkino, Vladimir Oblast.
9 September
At least 25 people were killed and 18 injured in a Russian airstrike on the village of Yarova in Donetsk Oblast.
The HUR claimed to have carried out an attack on a Russian 48Ya6-K1 Podlet low-altitude radar and an RLM-M module from the 55Zh6M Nebo-M air defense complex in Crimea, destroying the RLM-M module.
The governor of Krasnodar Krai claimed one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on Sochi.
Geolocated footage showed Ukrainian forces advanced in Katerynivka village, while Russian forces advanced in east .
10 September
Poland said it shot down Russian drones which violated its airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine.
The governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed the regional government building was damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike.
The HUR claimed to have struck and disabled an unspecified Project MPSV07 salvage ship in Novorossiysk Bay in Krasnodar Krai.
Ukrainian drones struck infrastructure connected to the Russian 40th Command and Measurement Complex, responsible for parts of the Russian space program. Drones managed to bypass Russian air defenses and damaged the headquarters building and the main communications hub.
A Russian Pantsir-S1 was destroyed by a Ukrainian RAM-2X drone at Luhansk International Airport.
Russian forces claimed to have retaken the settlement of Novoekonomichne near Pokrovsk.
11 September
The in Sumy was damaged by a Russian drone attack. Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobyanin stated nine drones were intercepted on their way to the city.
The Ukrainian Navy claimed to have carried out an attack on a communications center of the Russian Black Sea Fleet's 184th Research and Testing Facility in Sevastopol.
Atesh partisans claimed to have destroyed a communications tower belonging to an "air defense factory" in Tula.
Ukrainian Air Force pilot Oleksandr Borovyk was killed in action during a combat mission aboard a Sukhoi Su-27 over the Zaporizhzhia front.
Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets stated Russian infiltration groups were seen operating near , and , all near Kupiansk. Mashovets stated Russian forces took the village of , northwest of Lyman. In Velykomykhailivka, the Russian defense ministry claimed to have taken the village of . Geolocated footage showed Russian forces likely took the villages of and as well.
12 September Russian forces were reported to have entered Kupiansk using a gas pipeline that ran from Russian positions in Lyman Pershyi.
The governor of Belgorod Oblast claimed one person was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Belgorod city.
SBU drones struck and damaged two oil tankers, the Kusto and Cai Yun, in the port of Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast. According to the local governor, Aleksandr Drozdenko, more than 30 drones were downed. Locals reported smoke and explosions, describing it as "one of the largest attacks" since the full scale invasion. Other attacks were reported in Leningrad Oblast. Lukoil's facility in Smolensk was set ablaze, and Russian officials claimed 221 drones were shot down, including nine over Moscow Oblast. The Vtorovo Fuel Facility was also struck by Ukrainian drones, part of the oil pipeline Vtorovo→Tuma→Ryazan, responsible for pumping gas and oil to Moscow. Damage was reported to two fuel tanks along with various power cables and pipelines used to maintain pressure in the pipeline.
A suspected Russian STC Orlan-10 drone washed up on a beach in Burgas, Bulgaria.
Geolocated footage showed Ukrainian forces retook the village of , south of Novopavlivka. Near Velykomykhailivka, geolocated footage showed Russian forces took the villages of Ternove and .
13 September Three people were killed by Russian shelling in Kostiantynivka, while one person was killed in a separate attack in Borova, Kharkiv Oblast.
Russia claimed to have taken the village of Novomykolaivka in Synelnykove Raion, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. A Russian milblogger claimed Russian forces retook the villages of Bezsalivka, Kindrativka, and Andriivka in Sumy Oblast.
Russian media reported the Novo-Ufimsky oil refinery in Bashkortostan was attacked by drones. The head of Bashkortostan, Radiy Khabirov, said drones were shot down by small arms fire, but falling debris started a fire.
Metafrax Chemicals, an ammonia manufacturer in Perm Krai, was attacked by drones. Local officials said the facility continued normal operations and there were no casualties.
Two officers from the National Guard of Russia were killed and one was critically injured during an explosion in Oryol Oblast that delayed some 10 trains. The explosion occurred while victims were clearing mines from the Oryol-Kursk railway line discovered by rail personnel on the Maloarkhangelsk — Glazunovka section. The HUR claimed responsibility for the attack.
A drone violated Romanian airspace over Tulcea County during a Russian strike on Ukraine.
14 September
The Kirishi oil refinery in Leningrad Oblast was set ablaze by Ukrainian drones according to Governor Alexander Drozdenko. He claimed three drones were shot down but falling debris set fire to the refinery.
A Russian Buk-M3 was destroyed by HUR drones in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Geolocated footage showed Russian forces advanced east of Kozatske, Pokrovsk Raion; and in east Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
15 September One person was killed in a Russian air attack on Zaporizhzhia city.
The National Guard of Ukraine claimed to have cleared Russian troops from village in Donetsk Oblast following a joint operation with the Ukrainian military. Russian forces entered the settlement of Yampil in Donetsk Oblast.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov claimed a Ukrainian drone killed two women in Golovchino village, from the Ukrainian border. Three others were injured and a car was destroyed.