Donald Trump took no apparent action as his latest deadline for Vladimir Putin to enter negotiations with Volodymyr Zelenskyy passed. The US president expressed being “very disappointed” in the Russian leader and vaguely mentioned planning “to do something to help people live,” without providing specifics. He made these remarks on a radio show hosted by conservative pundit Scott Jennings.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported a new Russian troop buildup in certain frontline sectors and continued strikes on Ukrainian targets. “Now we see another buildup of Russian forces in certain sectors of the front. [Putin] refuses to be forced into peace … Russia continues to launch strikes. Of course, we will respond to this,” he said in his nightly address.
European allies are ready to contribute to postwar security guarantees for Ukraine but await tangible US support, according to French President Emmanuel Macron's office. Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer are set to co-chair a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on Thursday. The coalition seeks a US “backstop” involving intelligence, logistical support, and communications.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated the Kremlin's stance that any peace deal must recognise “new territorial realities,” referring to Russia's illegal occupation of Ukrainian territory, and include Moscow in postwar security guarantees. Lavrov said he expected talks to continue, but Putin has refused bilateral talks with Zelenskyy that Trump promised to organise.
Ukrainians paid tribute to politician Andriy Parubiy, who was gunned down in a daytime attack on Saturday, the second assassination in Lviv in just over a year. Police suspect Russian involvement. The alleged assassin, a Ukrainian man, admitted to the shooting, calling it “my personal revenge” and claiming he wanted to be included in a prisoner exchange to find his son's body. A Lviv court remanded him in custody for 60 days pending investigation.
Russia launched a sweeping overnight air attack on Ukraine, injuring at least four railway workers in Kirovohrad and prompting Poland to scramble defence aircraft. Air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine, with explosions in nine regions. South Korean intelligence estimates about 2,000 North Korean soldiers have been killed fighting for Russia against Ukraine, with plans to deploy another 6,000 soldiers and engineers.
