Overview

• After a roughly 40‑minute call with Vladimir Putin, Trump said he began arranging a Putin–Zelensky face‑to‑face, while Germany’s Friedrich Merz projected a meeting within about two weeks; the Kremlin has not confirmed a date.
• Trump said negotiations can proceed without a ceasefire, whereas Merz and France’s Emmanuel Macron pressed for a halt to fighting before serious talks.
• Leaders discussed security guarantees for Ukraine coordinated by European states with U.S. involvement, and Zelensky said a framework should be formalized within about 10 days.
• Zelensky said Ukraine offered to buy about $90 billion in U.S. weapons focused on aircraft and air defenses, with documents reported by the Financial Times indicating a package near $100 billion financed by Europe and a prospective U.S.–Ukraine drone production deal.
• As diplomacy moved forward, Russia continued strikes on Ukrainian cities with civilian casualties and nationwide air‑raid alerts after a MiG‑31 takeoff, while Moscow reiterated its rejection of any NATO troop deployment in Ukraine.