Overview
- Ukrainian authorities deny that Siversk has fallen, while Moscow presents the claimed gain as a step toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, which remains unverified by independent sources.
- Vladimir Putin directed forces to take northern Donetsk in the coming months, with Russian commanders citing continued assaults near key nodes including Lyman and Kostiantynivka.
- At least two people were killed in Russia’s Saratov region in a drone strike that damaged a residential building, as Ukrainian energy infrastructure in Kherson suffered outages after Russian attacks.
- Russia’s Defense Ministry reported shooting down 41 Ukrainian drones overnight across multiple regions, adding to recent large-scale interception claims.
- Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov signaled that Russian police and the National Guard would remain in Donbas under any deal and tied a cease-fire to mutual pullbacks, while France’s foreign minister said the EU will immobilize about €210 billion in Russian assets indefinitely.