Overview

• Western partners plan to invest in Ukraine’s defense industry and provide weapons without offering a NATO invitation, the Washington Post reported, as recapped by RIA Novosti.
• President Trump’s special envoy Kit Kellogg told the Telegraph that Kyiv should, for now, accept de‑facto loss of some territory to enable a cease-fire, arguing negotiations are unlikely to progress without halting fire.
• Kellogg said Russia controls a large share of Donbas and almost all of the Luhansk region and compared de‑facto control to non-recognition policies during the Soviet era, while adding that improved U.S.–Russia ties are unlikely under President Putin.
• Ukraine’s digital ministry map showed simultaneous air-raid alerts Friday in Kyiv and nine regions, underscoring continued strikes and air threats across the country.
• During a visit to Perm, President Vladimir Putin toured the Motovilikha plants and was shown MLRS, artillery systems, drones and air-defense countermeasures, with officials emphasizing industrial capabilities; separately, Moscow rejected Polish claims about Russian drones as groundless.