Political and military highlights of the events of September 7 in Ukraine and around the world

1. Trump’s special envoys, who visited moscow on September 5, conveyed a message to the Ukrainian side that “the russians are ready for negotiations”. “It feels like putin needs Trump. He does not want to upset him”, - Zelensky commented. According to the president, ideas for partial agreements are being discussed — concerning energy, grain, electricity infrastructure, and oil and gas exports, while he limited the window for a real discussion to September and October.

The formula the U.S. has effectively proposed to the parties is not peace, but managed winter de-escalation: trading strikes on energy and port infrastructure for a pause that would allow Trump to present a diplomatic result ahead of the congressional runoffs. Such a construct is not beneficial to Ukraine, as it freezes precisely the two instruments where Kyiv is currently most effective — strikes on oil refineries and logistics — while leaving the ground offensive, where russia has the advantage, untouched.

2. Late in the evening of September 7, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko announced his resignation: “This is a political decision. And I made it consciously”. The resignation became the culmination of the scandal surrounding the NABU and SAPO investigation into a criminal organization that “covered for” fraudulent call centers.

Another resignation with a corruption trail in Zelensky’s inner circle raises the question either of his involvement in what is happening or of his inability to control his own power vertical.

3. Russian aircraft struck the center of Kramatorsk on the morning of September 7: the occupiers dropped four one-and-a-half-ton FAB-250 bombs. Two people were killed, and three high-rise buildings were damaged. On Monday, the enemy struck Sloviansk three times with bombs and missiles. A total of 849 people were evacuated from the frontline zone over the past day. About 93,000 residents remain in the part of the region controlled by Ukraine, including 4,804 children.

The strikes on Kramatorsk and Sloviansk constitute the systematic destruction of the rear area of the agglomeration that the russian army cannot capture by storm. Moscow is counting on the transport isolation of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk hub. By winter, the cities of the agglomeration risk reaching a state where their defense will already be provided with almost no civilian infrastructure.

4. On September 7, commander of the 3rd Army Corps Andrii Biletskyi published a video directly from Sviatohirsk, demonstrating that the city is under firm Ukrainian control. This directly refuted putin’s September 1 claim that it had allegedly been captured by russia.

Moscow is currently trying to convince Washington that Ukraine’s situation on the frontline is allegedly constantly deteriorating and that Kyiv therefore should agree to territorial concessions. If the real situation on the ground differs significantly from the picture putin presents to the Americans, this could also affect the U.S. negotiating position.

5. During the night of September 7, Ukraine carried out one of the geographically broadest series of attacks in recent times. Zelensky reported strikes on oil-refining facilities in Tatarstan and Perm Krai, a site for storing and launching russian attack drones in the Kursk oblast, and another facility in the Black Sea. The General Staff reported a strike on a railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal near Vladyslavivka, while the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine also reported damage to a russian Su-24 bomber in Crimea.

Perm Krai is particularly interesting — Ukraine is capable of attacking russia’s military economy very far from the border. If this becomes a regular practice, moscow will have to stretch its air defenses even further between the frontline, moscow, oil refining facilities, airfields, and strategic sites.

Taken together, the selection of targets shows Ukraine’s systematic strategy: oil refineries + airfields + command posts + warehouses + railways.

6. Brent crude oil was trading at around $97.89 per barrel. The reason was a new escalation around the Strait of Hormuz,

Every additional ten dollars in the price of a barrel brings the russian budget tens of billions of dollars a year. This works against the financial strangulation strategy pursued by Kyiv and its partners and diminishes the value of long-range strikes on russian oil refineries.

7. In occupied Donetsk on September 7, the authorities announced large-scale power outages. The head of the local water utility admitted that the available 173 diesel generators are sufficient only for short-term localized emergencies, while utility workers have already effectively acknowledged problems with heating in winter. Meanwhile, the “LNR” authorities continued to explain the power disruptions as an accident “in the neighboring region”, avoiding any mention of russia’s Rostov oblast.

The energy collapse in the occupied territories is developing for the first time in years of war not as a consequence of hostilities, but as a result of the depletion of russia’s repair and generating capacity — this is a qualitatively new reality that will not change quickly even if hostilities stop. Especially since the situation in the “neighboring” Rostov oblast is no better.

8. Poland announced that in the coming days it would begin testing a weapon capable of striking targets at a distance of up to 1,000 kilometers. The weapon in question is the Barracuda-500M cruise missile.

For the first time, a country on NATO’s eastern flank is gaining the ability to independently, without Washington’s permission, reach targets deep in russia’s operational rear. This is both deterrence and indirect support for Ukraine — the russian command will have to take the new threat into account and disperse its air defenses.