Overview

• President Donald Trump publicly backed shooting down unidentified or hostile aircraft that enter NATO airspace.
• EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said downing a violating warplane is on the table after a clear warning, and Poland’s Donald Tusk declared his country ready to strike intruding objects.
• Ukraine’s air force reported downing a Russian Su-34 over the Zaporizhzhia region before dawn, though the claim has not been independently verified and regional strikes killed one person.
• Russia’s General Staff announced efforts to encircle Pokrovsk and advances toward Kramatorsk and Slovyansk in the Donbas.
• Volodymyr Zelensky said he would not seek the presidency after the war and would ask parliament to hold elections if a ceasefire emerges, while noting Trump’s support for Ukrainian retaliatory strikes on Russian energy and drone facilities.