Overview
- Financial Times reporting says Russia’s memo to Washington restated demands for territorial concessions, a steep reduction of Ukraine’s armed forces, and a guarantee Kyiv will never join NATO.
- The summit plan was dropped following a tense call between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after which Washington judged Moscow was not ready to negotiate.
- A U.S. intelligence assessment shared with Congress concludes Vladimir Putin is more dug in than ever and shows no willingness to compromise on Ukraine.
- Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, after meetings with U.S. officials, publicly claimed the sides were close to a diplomatic solution and said he believed the war could end within a year.
- Washington recently sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil to increase pressure, while Russia announced tests of the Burevestnik and Poseidon systems and continued large-scale missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities.