Overview

• The White House is pushing to set a Zelensky–Putin meeting within weeks, but the Kremlin has not confirmed and Sergey Lavrov says any leaders’ encounter should only conclude broader negotiations.
• Lavrov set conditions that include a say over Western security guarantees and floated reviving a 2022 proposal making UN Security Council members, including Russia and China, formal guarantors.
• U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff says talks produced agreement in principle on Article 5‑like protections for Ukraine, with President Trump signaling possible U.S. air support and no ground troops as NATO and U.S. defense chiefs discuss frameworks.
• European officials doubt Putin’s intentions and question whether proposed guarantees are enforceable, even as plans for potential European peacekeeping roles continue to take shape.
• Reporting points to discussions of territorial concessions tied to current front lines, a prospect facing resistance in Kyiv and among U.S. voters, with a new poll showing 68% oppose Russia receiving any Ukrainian land.