Overview
- Ukraine reported retaking parts of Kupiansk and encircling Russian troops, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visiting the area and linking battlefield gains to leverage in talks.
- Zelenskyy said US negotiators proposed a “free economic zone” in parts of Donetsk that would see Ukrainian withdrawals, a concept Russia describes as a demilitarised zone, while he insists voters must approve any territorial change.
- The White House voiced frustration over stalled talks and said President Donald Trump would send a representative to European meetings only if progress is likely, as Ukrainian, US and European security advisers met to align positions with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner involved.
- European Union countries agreed to indefinitely freeze about €210 billion in Russian sovereign assets in Europe, drawing legal threats from Moscow and a lawsuit by Russia’s central bank against Euroclear.
- Hostilities intensified as Ukrainian drones struck Lukoil’s Filanovsky and Korchagin rigs in the Caspian Sea and a refinery in Yaroslavl, Russia hit Odesa-area ports and energy sites damaging Turkish-owned ships, and NATO chief Mark Rutte urged Europe to prepare for large-scale war.