Overview
- European leaders and President Volodymyr Zelensky endorsed starting talks from the existing contact line in a joint statement that also pledged measures to tap frozen Russian assets for Ukraine.
- Signatories included Germany’s Friedrich Merz, the UK’s Keir Starmer, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, Denmark’s Mette Frederiksen, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President António Costa.
- Reports say a planned in‑person meeting between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is on hold after a call exposed differences over ending the war, as the Kremlin signaled no date is set for a Trump–Putin summit.
- Russia struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure overnight, leaving large areas of the Chernihiv region and the city of Slavutych without power, according to local authorities and the regional utility.
- President Donald Trump recently urged a freeze along current lines and voiced doubts Ukraine will win, while EU foreign policy leader Kaja Kallas and military analysts warned against pressuring Kyiv to concede territory such as the Donbass.