Overview
- The Russian and U.S. foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio, held a call on concrete steps for the Budapest meeting, with no date or format yet confirmed.
- Volodymyr Zelensky said he would attend if officially invited, reiterated that Ukraine rejects Moscow’s conditions, and argued Budapest is not the best venue.
- Donald Trump declined to provide Tomahawk cruise missiles, calling deep strikes into Russia an escalation and urging the sides to halt at current front lines.
- Multiple reports describe Kremlin terms that would see Russia keep Donetsk in exchange for withdrawals from parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and recount a tense Oval Office meeting where Trump pressed Kyiv to accept.
- Zelensky requested 25 additional Patriot air‑defense systems financed via frozen Russian assets, as EU officials warned against conceding to Moscow and urged sustained pressure on the Kremlin.