Overview
- Paris confirmed an intention agreement for up to 100 Rafale fighters alongside SAMP‑T air‑defense systems, radars, drones and pilot training, with implementation expected over about a decade and funding still unspecified.
- House‑to‑house fighting continues in Pokrovsk with Russian troops inside the city, and multiple assessments say the strongpoint is likely to fall.
- Moscow claims the capture of Mala Tokmatschka and Riwnopillja in the Zaporizhzhia region, heightening risks for Huliaipole and Orikhiv, though independent verification is limited.
- ISW and frontline analysts attribute recent Russian gains to dense fog and systematic anti‑drone measures that have degraded Ukrainian drone effectiveness and eroded Kyiv’s previous edge.
- Infrastructure strikes persisted as at least three people were killed in Balakliia, a Russian substation in Ulyanovsk caught fire after a reported drone hit, President Trump said Republicans are drafting broad secondary sanctions, and Kyiv reported work to resume prisoner exchanges for about 1,200 Ukrainians.