Overview
- U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff announced an agreement for a 314-person prisoner exchange reached during the Abu Dhabi meetings.
- The Pentagon said Washington and Moscow will restart a high-level military-to-military dialogue, with Gen. Alexus Grynkewich authorized to engage his Russian counterpart Gen. Valery Gerasimov to reduce escalation risks.
- The New START treaty expired today, ending the last formal U.S.–Russia arms-control limit, with media reports of a possible informal adherence period unconfirmed by officials.
- Russia resumed large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s power grid after a brief pause, and a market strike in the east caused civilian casualties as outages spread during severe cold.
- Territorial terms remain the main impasse as Moscow demands Ukrainian withdrawal from Donetsk, a position Kyiv rejects, while a Financial Times report describes an unconfirmed European rapid-reaction plan for ceasefire enforcement.