Overview
- Russia said no date or modalities are set for the proposed Budapest meeting and stressed serious preparatory work, as a U.S. official signaled no encounter is planned in the near term.
- Foreign ministers Marco Rubio and Sergei Lavrov held a “constructive” call on possible steps for a summit and agreed to continue telephone contacts.
- Zelensky and key European leaders endorsed an immediate halt to fighting with the current line of contact as the basis for negotiations, while reaffirming that borders cannot be altered by force.
- Reports describe a tense White House meeting where Trump pressed Zelensky to accept terms aligned with Russian demands, as separate reporting says Putin floated retaining Donetsk in exchange for withdrawals from parts of Zaporizhia and Kherson; Kyiv rejects such conditions.
- Zelensky said he would attend in Budapest if invited and, after leaving Washington without Tomahawk missiles, is seeking 25 Patriot systems as Europeans explore using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defenses.