Overview

• Russia and Tajikistan issued a joint statement to expand strategic and alliance ties, urging swift signing of the UN cybercrime convention and boosting counterterrorism, military‑technical and Afghan‑related cooperation.
• A Kremlin aide said the leaders discussed the war in Ukraine during the Dushanbe negotiations, as Putin also highlighted diplomatic engagement on Gaza and Iran’s nuclear file.
• Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukraine settlement contacts are in a serious pause, citing no response from Kyiv to proposed working groups following the Istanbul track.
• Volodymyr Zelensky said a Ukrainian team led by Prime Minister Yuliia Sviridenko, Andriy Yermak and a sanctions envoy will visit the United States next week to discuss air defense, energy and a negotiations track.
• Russian authorities reported court terms of 15–17 years for three captured Ukrainian servicemen over an incursion into Kursk region, while UN experts’ concern over pressure on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was amplified by Moscow’s Foreign Ministry.