Overview

• Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told NBC that a summit agenda is not ready and that Moscow expects Ukrainian territorial concessions and a renunciation of NATO membership, saying Zelenskyy has rejected those terms.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of avoiding peace and continuing heavy strikes, calling recent signals from Moscow indecent as fighting persists on the front.
• Trump has advocated a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy following his Alaska session with Putin and Washington talks with Zelenskyy and European leaders, but Moscow’s stance makes a near‑term summit unlikely.
• NATO chief Mark Rutte said Trump injected movement into discussions and affirmed expected U.S. involvement in security guarantees for Ukraine, while Europeans continue to seek frameworks they can credibly enforce.
• U.S. dynamics complicated the diplomacy as Vice President JD Vance recounted telling Zelenskyy to behave before the Washington meeting, recalling tensions from a contentious Oval Office encounter in February.