Overview
- Open-source project DeepStateUA reports Ukrainian forces have encircled Russian troops in Kupyansk and cleared the city’s northwest outskirts, with the operation described as ongoing.
- Ukraine’s military says it retook the villages of Kindrashivka and Radkivka in Kharkiv region and regained positions in northern Kupyansk, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops near the city.
- Ukrainian units in Pokrovsk report halting a large Russian mechanized push, sharing footage of destroyed vehicles and citing the use of drones and a Leopard 2A4 tank.
- Moscow and Kyiv issue conflicting claims over control of Kupyansk, Pokrovsk and Siversk, with Russia declaring captures that Ukraine denies as fighting continues.
- Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov rejects Kyiv’s referendum idea, reiterates that Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia are part of Russia, demands Ukrainian troop withdrawals for a ceasefire, and floats Russian National Guard and police presence in a demilitarized setup; Zelenskyy also says President Donald Trump raised a 'free economic zone' concept for Donbass.