Overview
- Ukraine acknowledges that more than 300 Russian soldiers have entered Pokrovsk after fog-aided infiltrations into the city’s defenses.
- Ukrainian forces were ordered to withdraw from positions near five settlements south of Zaporizhzhia to preserve personnel and realign defenses.
- Kyiv reports that Russia has concentrated roughly 150,000 troops for the Pokrovsk operation and executed a pincer maneuver, raising concerns about a potential encirclement.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky says the focus is on Pokrovsk and Zaporizhzhia as Russian attacks intensify, noting difficult conditions across the front.
- Russia’s FSB claims Kinzhal strikes near Kyiv and says it foiled a Ukrainian plot to hijack a MiG-31, assertions not independently verified, while Kyiv Post reports U.S. advisers are pushing to soften U.N. resolution language on territorial integrity and aggression, drawing concern in Kyiv and in Europe.