Overview
- U.S. and Russian delegations met in Riyadh and agreed to restore embassy staffing and form high-level teams to negotiate on ending the war in Ukraine and on economic cooperation, according to a State Department account.
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is prepared to forgo NATO membership in exchange for bilateral security guarantees, as talks with U.S. and German officials resumed in Berlin.
- Russia introduced new conditions to a U.S.- and Ukraine-backed truce proposal but stopped short of rejecting it, with the Kremlin citing “signals” from Vladimir Putin and grounds for cautious optimism after a meeting with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
- Heavy fighting continued as Ukraine’s air force reported Russia launched 328 drones and seven missiles overnight, saying defenses downed 297 drones, with strikes killing and injuring civilians and damaging infrastructure.
- European leaders moved to coordinate security guarantees for Kyiv as Washington’s bilateral track advanced, with proposals ranging from potential troop deployments to broader reassurance measures and notable divisions over how far to go.