Overview
- During a visit to India, Vladimir Putin said Ukraine must pull its forces from the Donbass or Russia will seize the territories by force, reiterating that NATO poses a threat to Russia.
- White House envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held five hours of talks in Moscow and then met Ukraine’s chief negotiator Rustem Umerov in Miami, with Putin saying a 28‑point plan was being broken into four packages for discussion.
- The U.S. Treasury suspended certain sanctions on Lukoil to allow foreign service stations to keep operating, a move reported as coinciding with the latest diplomatic push.
- President Trump’s new National Security Strategy prioritizes a rapid end to the war, criticizes Europe’s direction, and questions perpetual NATO expansion, while Der Spiegel reported that Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz warned privately of possible U.S. acceptance of territorial concessions.
- Volodymyr Zelensky called for a dignified peace in coordination with partners as Dmytro Kuleba urged Europe to use frozen Russian assets, with heavy fighting and Ukrainian manpower pressures continuing on the front.