Russia's war on Ukraine. 16.09.25
Operational situation
On the Northern Slobozhansky direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces pushed back the enemy from positions near Novokostyantynivka and Kostyantynivka, and counterattacked near Andriivka.
Russian troops attacked near Yunakivka.
On the Southern Slobozhansky direction, Russian troops tried to advance on the left bank of the Vovcha river in Vovchansk and near Synelnykove, northeast of Odradne, south of Milove, east of Ambarne, near Khatnie, and attacked near Vovchansk Khutory.
On the Kupyansk direction, Russian troops advanced in the center of Kupyansk, southwest of Stepova Novoselivka, Zahryzove, Nova Kruhlyakivka, Borivska Andriivka, tried to advance south of Tyshchenkivka, along Zarichna street, Dukhovnoho alley and the railway within Kupyansk, and attacked near Kindrashivka, Radkivka, Krasne Pershe, Hrekivka, and in the direction of Pishchane.
On the Lyman direction, Russian troops attacked near Shandryholove, Serednie, Derylove, Kolodyazi, Torske, in the Serebriansk forest area, in the direction of Drobysheve, Stavky, Yampil, and began striking Ukrainian positions in Izium, where they are trying to take Ukrainian logistics under fire control.
On the Siversk direction, Russian troops advanced near Dronivka, Serebrianka, Hryhorivka, Vyimka, and Fedorivka.
Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacked in Fedorivka.
On the Kostyantynivka direction, Russian troops attacked near Chasiv Yar, Stupochky, Predtechyne, Oleksandro-Shultyne, Bila Hora, Pleshchiivka, Kleban Byk, Katerynivka, Shcherbynivka, Oleksandro-Kalynove, Poltavka, Rusyn Yar, Volodymyrivka, and in the direction of Stepanivka. They also conducted Geran-2 UAV strikes on Druzhkivka.
Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacked near Rusyn Yar.
On the Pokrovsk direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated Pankivka and counterattacked near Novotoretske.
Russian troops tried to advance on the southern outskirts of Vesele, south and east of Hruzke, in the western part of Zolotyi Kolodiaz, in Shakhove, in the southeast of Novyi Donbas. They also attacked near Vilne, Zaporizhzhia, Rodynske, Sukhetske, Novoekonomichne, Fedorivka, Myrnohrad, Promin, Lysivka, Novoukrainka, Kotlyne, Udachne, Zvirove, and in the direction of Molodetske and Novopidhorodnie.
On the Novopavlivka direction, Russian troops advanced southwest of Orikhove, attacked Novopavlivka, and near Dachne, Filiya, Tovste, Andriivka-Klevtsove, Sichneve, Voskresenka, Oleksandrohrad, Komyshuvakha, Vorone, Maliivka, and Sosnivka. They fought for Berezove and tried to advance west of Ternove and Novomykolayivka.
On the Huliaypole direction, the 114th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 127th Motorized Rifle Division of the 5th Combined Arms Army captured Olhivske. Russian troops tried to advance west and south of Olhivske, southwest and northwest of Temyrivka, to Novoivanivka, and attacked near Poltavka, Obratne, and in the direction of Novoivanivka and Okhotnyche.
On the Orikhiv direction, Russian troops attacked near Prymorske, Stepnohirsk, Novoandriivka, Kamianske, and Novodanylivka.
General conclusion:
Russian forces have not entered Kupyansk but use reconnaissance and sabotage groups to penetrate the city. Such groups accumulate on the northern outskirts of Kupyansk, camouflage themselves, change into civilian clothes, and use fake documents to enter the city.
Ukrainian Defense Forces hold under fire control the exit from the gas pipeline that the enemy tried to use to move from Lyman Pershyi to Radkivka.
On the Siversk direction, small enemy groups try to penetrate Siversk but have not entered the city. The enemy continues to look for gaps in the Ukrainian defense and accumulates manpower in this area.
The troops of the 51st Combined Arms Army operate near Dobropillya. They have concentrated a large number of personnel there and conduct active assault actions near Kucheriv Yar, but Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattack on the Zapovidne – Mayak line. The enemy has only one logistical route in the Dobropillya area.
On the Pokrovsk direction, Russian forces conduct over 50 attacks per day.
On the Orikhiv direction, Russian forces try to quickly raise flags in random locations, faking the capture of a village, and then retreat quickly.
Change in the line of contact (LoC):
There were 208 combat engagements on various fronts.
On the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursk directions, 7 combat engagements occurred.
On the Southern Slobozhansky direction, 20 combat engagements occurred near Vovchansk, Vovchanski Khutory, Ambarne, Odradne, and Krasne Pershe.
On the Kupyansk direction, 11 enemy attacks occurred. Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled the enemy's assault actions in the areas of Kindrashivka, Zahryzove, and in the direction of Kupyansk, and Petropavlivka.
On the Lyman direction, the enemy attacked 17 times, and tried to advance in the direction of Serednie, Stavky, and near Hrekivka, Derylove, Shandryholove, Kolodyazi, and Torske.
On the Siversk direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 17 enemy attacks. Occupier units tried to advance in the areas of Serebrianka, Hryhorivka, and toward Yampil and Dronivka.
On the Kostyantynivka direction, 21 combat engagements were recorded in the area of Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Shcherbynivka, Katerynivka, and in the direction of Mykolaivka, Stupochky, Bila Hora, Ivanopillya, Pleshchiivka, Rusyn Yar, and Poltavka.
On the Pokrovsk direction, 54 assault and offensive actions by the aggressor were stopped in the areas of Volodymyrivka, Zapovidne, Novoekonomichne, Shevchenko, Kotlyne, Udachne, Dachne, and toward Zolotyi Kolodyaz, Vilne, Chervonyi Lyman, Myrnohrad, Rodynske, Promin, Zvirove, Molodetske, Novopidhorodnie, Novopavlivka, and Filiya.
On the Novopavlivka direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 34 enemy attacks near Yalta, Shevchenko, Komyshuvakha, Vorone, Ternove, Novoivanivka, and in the direction of Filiya, Ivanivka, Iskra, Sichneve, Olhivske, and Poltavka.
On the Orikhiv direction, the enemy advanced twice in the area of Kamianske and in the direction of Novodanylivka.
On the Prydniprovske direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 4 occupier attacks.
Supporting operation:
The missile troops and artillery, Air Force, and Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, working with other parts of Ukrainian Defense Forces, have struck the command post of the enemy’s “Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping and the command post of the 41st Combined Arms Army.
Ukrainian Defense Forces also conducted a strike on military and infrastructure facilities in Saratov and Engels of the Russian Federation.
Changes in the enemy disposition:
The Russian military command has replenished the 2nd and 3rd battalions of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 44th Army Corps, which are to replace the 1st battalion of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment near Volodymyrivka and Oleksiivka.
The 91st Engineering Regiment of the enemy’s “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping operates in the Sudzha district of the Kursk Oblast.
The 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 1st Tank Army and the 16th Separate SOF Brigade strike Ukrainian positions near Kupyansk.
The 252nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Combined Arms Army advances in the direction of Lyman.
The 78th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 58th Combined Arms Army advances in the direction of Kostyantynivka. The 238th Artillery Brigade of the 8th Combined Arms Army strikes Ukrainian positions near Berestky.
The 1st and 110th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigades of the 51st Combined Arms Army and the 39th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 68th Army Corps operate near Fedorivka. The 9th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 51st Combined Arms Army is near Rodynske.
The 36th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Combined Arms Army operates near Andriivka-Klevtsove. The 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army conducts strikes with guided aerial bombs on Kalynivske.
The 4th Military Base of the 58th Combined Arms Army strikes Ukrainian troops near Mala Tokmachka. The 7th Air Assault Division is near Prymorske, and its 247th Air Assault Regiment is near Stepnohirsk.
Possible operation situation developments:
According to the assessment of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the enemy will not be able to achieve the goal of the so-called special military operation to capture the entire Donetsk Oblast by the end of 2025. Provided current dynamics of combat operations are maintained, the enemy will be able to capture Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, and Kupyansk no earlier than the end of the year, and reach the close approaches to Zaporizhzhia and the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration by early winter.
The command of the enemy's “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping, in cooperation with the right flank of the “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping, will expand its bridgehead northeast of Velykyi Burluk in the Southern Slobozhansky direction and will try to capture Khatnie.
On the Kupyansk direction, the enemy's immediate offensive objective is to block the city of Kupyansk from the north and northwest, cut off the Kupyansk – Dvorichna – Velykyi Burluk – Chuhuiv road, and have forward units of the 6th Combined Arms Army break through to Kupyansk. An additional objective for the enemy within the operational area of the 6th Combined Arms Army is to advance toward Velykyi Burluk.
On the Lyman direction, the 25th Combined Arms Army will completely capture the Serebriansk Forest as far as the Chorny Zherebets River leading to the withdrawal of troops of the 3rd Army Corps across the river in the direction of Yampil.
On the Siversk direction, in the short term, the enemy will continue to attack Siversk directly from the east and head-on from northeast, ignoring the southern direction.
Russian troops will try to cut off the H20 Kostyantynivka – Sloviansk highway. For this purpose they will attack in the directions of Oleksiyevo-Druzhkivka and Druzhkivka, complicating the logistics of the 19th Combined Arms Corps of the Defense Forces in Kostyantynivka, thereby contributing to the capture of the "fortress belt."
On the Pokrovsk direction, the 51st Combined Arms Army is currently focused on its immediate operational objective: to break through to the area of Shevchenko, Biletske, Rodynske, and Hryshyne and to block the entire defense area of Ukrainian Defense Forces within the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration from the north by cutting both roads that run from Pokrovsk to Dobropillya.
On the Orikhiv direction, the enemy's “Dnepr” Operational Grouping will continue the local offensive operation, trying to break through along the left bank of the Dnipro River from the Plavni – Kamianske line to Stepnohirsk and from the Stepove – Mali Shcherbaky line in a northern direction.
On the Prydniprovske direction, the command of the enemy's “Dnepr” Operational Grouping will continue trying to take control of most of the island zone in the Dnipro delta in the direction of Kherson, will try to create a tactical bridgehead on the right bank, and to eliminate the tactical bridgeheads of the 30th Marine Corps of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the area of the automobile and railway bridges near Antonivka.
Russian operational losses from 23.02.22 to 16.09.25
Personnel - almost 1,096 430 (+910);
Tanks – 11,184 (0);
Armored combat vehicles ‒ 23,274 (+5);
Artillery systems – 32,810 (+26);
Multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) – 1,490 (+2);
Anti-aircraft warfare systems – 1,217 (0);
Vehicles and fuel tanks – 61,770 (+72);
Aircraft - 422 (0);
Helicopters – 341 (0);
UAV operational and tactical level – 59,719 (+310);
Intercepted cruise and other missiles – 3,718 (0);
Boats/ships – 29 (0).
Humanitarian + general:
On the night of September 16, Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 113 Shahed-type and Gerbera UAVs and other drones. About 70 of these were Shaheds. According to preliminary data, as of 9:00 a.m., Ukrainian air defense forces shot down and suppressed 89 enemy drones. Around midnight, the enemy also struck Zaporizhzhia with ten MLRS projectiles (preliminarily Tornado-S), resulting in deaths and injuries. Hits by 22 strike drones were recorded in six locations, and debris fell in two others.
Around 2:30 a.m. on September 16, a series of explosions rang out in Sumy, after which some parts of the city partially lost power. It later became known that UAVs again attacked the Sumy community, with two hits recorded outside residential areas.
On the night of September 16, Russians attacked Zaporizhzhia, killing 2 people and injuring 20, including two children. As a result of the strike, large-scale fires broke out. The fire engulfed three residential buildings over an area of 350 square meters, two trucks in a parking lot, and a car service station over an area of 600 square meters.
On the night of September 16, Russian occupiers attacked a shopping center's car park in Kyiv Oblast twice. The first drone strike caused a fire, and the aggressor struck the site a second time while rescuers were extinguishing the fire. Two fire and rescue vehicles were damaged as a result of the second attack.
In Mykolaiv Oblast, Russians attacked a farm in the Chornomorska community. A tractor driver died while working in a field.
In the village of Komyshany near Kherson, a local resident was injured as a result of a morning shelling by the Russian Federation. Russian military forces also struck the Korabelnyi district of Kherson, injuring a 32-year-old local resident.
In Kharkiv, a building of the National Pharmaceutical University was damaged by a direct drone hit, and four people were injured.
Russians struck the logistics center of the Epicenter company in Kyiv Oblast, causing a large-scale fire. According to the company, there were no deaths or injuries among people, but the company sustained significant losses.
In the afternoon of September 16, Russian troops shelled the center of the town of Semenivka, Chernihiv Oblast, with a Grad MLRS, injuring a local resident and damaging a hospital, a business, and residential buildings.
The enemy hit a civilian car with an FPV drone near the village of Tavriiske in Zaporizhzhia district, injuring the driver and a passenger.
American researchers from the Yale School of Public Health found at least 210 facilities in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine where Ukrainian children are re-educated in a pro-Russian spirit and taught military skills. These facilities include camps, sanatoriums, schools, orphanages, and even military bases. For example, a camp in Mariupol, sanatoriums in Crimea, and a monastery organize patriotic programs, and children from Donetsk Oblast were flown to a military base for airborne training by a department of the Russian Presidential Administration.
In Ukraine, 229 artists and 111 Ukrainian and foreign media workers have died as a result of the full-scale Russian invasion.
According to a study by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, conducted from September 2–14 among 1,023 respondents:
An absolute majority of Ukrainians—76%—believe in the possibility of victory in the war if Ukraine is properly supported by sanctions and receives enough weapons and money. 15% believe that even under such conditions, Ukraine is not able to win. The remaining 9% could not decide. The sociologists noted that there was no significant decrease in belief in the possibility of victory with proper Western support over the past year.
Among Ukrainians (both men and women aged 18+ who are not undergoing military service), 54% answer that they are rather or definitely ready to join the Defense Forces and defend Ukraine with weapons in hand if necessary. Of these, 23% are definitely ready, and another 31% are rather ready. 15% of respondents are rather not ready, and 23% are definitely not ready (so a total of 38% are not ready, although only a portion of them categorically rejects such readiness).
75% of Ukrainians consider the "peace plan" for ending the war proposed by Russia completely unacceptable, while 17% of Ukrainians are ready for the Russian version of peace. The provisions of the Russian Federation's "peace plan," read to the respondents by the sociologists, were as follows: the United States and Europe cancel all sanctions against Russia; the Russian language receives official status; Ukraine must significantly reduce its army and limit its armaments; Ukraine permanently renounces NATO membership, and the West can no longer supply weapons to Ukraine; Russia has the right to determine what the security guarantees for Ukraine will be and will be one of the guarantor countries of Ukraine's security; Ukraine withdraws troops from the part of Donetsk Oblast that it currently controls, that is, from Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, and other cities; Ukraine officially recognizes Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk Oblasts as part of Russia and permanently renounces them; Russia retains control over the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
Only 18% of Ukrainians expect the war to end by the end of 2025. In contrast, 27% say 2026, and 32% say 2027 or later. Every fourth respondent (23%) answered "I don't know."
The majority of Ukrainians (62%) continue to answer that they are ready to endure the war for as long as needed (at the beginning of June 2025, it was 60%).