Overview

• Germany’s Chancellor Merz announced the lifting of range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, authorizing long-range strikes and adopting strategic ambiguity over future arms shipments.
• In Berlin, President Zelenskyy met Chancellor Merz, renewed his proposal for a trilateral summit with Trump and Putin and urged the US to enforce new energy and banking sanctions if Russia rejects a ceasefire.
• Russian forces launched the largest combined drone and missile assault on Ukraine since 2022, killing at least 13 civilians, including three children.
• Ukraine countered with one of its biggest drone barrages on Russian soil, striking six regions and disrupting traffic at Moscow’s Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports.
• Diplomatic tensions intensified as Donald Trump warned Putin he was “playing with fire” and Dmitry Medvedev retorted with World War III warnings, while Russia’s foreign minister says a new round of talks with Ukraine will be announced soon.