Overview
- Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said work on a Ukraine settlement is ongoing after a two‑day Russia–US–Ukraine security working session in Abu Dhabi that the UAE described as constructive.
- The Russian Defense Ministry stated the Sever grouping is advancing on the Kharkiv axis to push Ukrainian forces back and create a security zone along the border.
- Kursk region’s governor reported 53 artillery strikes on depopulated border districts and said air defenses downed 30 Ukrainian drones in 24 hours, with no casualties reported.
- Ukraine’s private energy firm DTEK warned of a lengthy restoration process after what it called colossal damage to an energy facility in Odesa during recent strikes.
- Russia’s security bodies reported multiple legal actions, including FSB arrests in Sverdlovsk over an alleged Ukraine‑directed rail arson plot, a seven‑year sentence for a juvenile in a planned Ministry of Defense arson case, a 14‑year treason sentence for a Yaroslavl resident, and an indictment sent to a Moscow court for Yulia Tymoshenko in absentia over alleged false claims about the Russian military.