Overview

• Russia deployed almost 50 Shahed-type drones alongside an Onyx anti-ship missile and guided air weapons targeting Kharkiv and Donetsk, with Ukraine’s Air Force downing 40 drones.
• Moscow’s Defence Ministry asserted its troops reached the western edge of Donetsk and penetrated into Dnipropetrovsk for the first time, a move Kyiv dismissed as slow and tactically marginal.
• Kharkiv authorities reported at least six civilians killed and dozens wounded after kamikaze drones, guided bombs and missiles struck central park areas and a children’s railway.
• Ukraine retaliated with drone strikes deep into Russia, prompting temporary closures at Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Kaluga airports and hitting a chemical plant in Novomoskovsk.
• Both sides are set to begin a prisoner exchange and war-dead handover next week despite diplomatic talks remaining stalled.