Overview
- Russia’s Defense Ministry says its ‘Vostok’ grouping took Zhovtneve in Zaporizhzhia, with soldiers describing a makeshift crossing over the Gajchur using boards, brush and freeze-hardened ground to achieve surprise.
- Russian units report seizing Western-made arms, including anti-tank guided missiles and small arms, and say a captured missile was used to destroy a fortified position near Zhovtneve.
- Ukraine’s energy minister said no power plant has escaped damage as rolling and emergency outages persist, President Zelensky announced a state of emergency and increased electricity imports, and the UK pledged £20 million for repairs.
- Russia’s Investigative Committee reported 29 deaths, including two minors, and at least 60 injuries in the Khorly attack, while the Kherson region’s governor accused Kyiv of responsibility.
- At a meeting on autonomous systems, President Putin directed the government and the Defenders of the Fatherland fund to involve veterans and wounded servicemen in development and operations and called for stronger protections against unauthorized access to drone and autonomous-system controls and data.