Exclusive
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Desperate for buyers, Russia throws India its biggest oil discounts yet. The price gap more than doubled in a month, from $3 to $7 per barrel. |
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Why Europe cannot afford the illusion of peace. Call it what it is: the Putin–Trump plan demands Ukraine's capitulation, not peace. |
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Zelenskyy's irreplaceables: too corrupt to keep, too entrenched to remove. Everyone wants Yermak and Tatarov to go. But would removing them collapse Zelenskyy's ability to govern? |
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Trump's Ukraine peace plan would violate 71 US international commitments. Enforcing the 28-point proposal would contradict 13 treaties and 23 political agreements Washington helped create |
Military
Russian units press through drone-monitored mist of Kharkiv Oblast to seize Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi railway station. Russian contract soldiers swarm the outskirts of the Kupiansk city.
How did Ukrainian soldiers' bluff lead to capture of entire Russian platoon on Pokrovsk front even without heavy fighting?. The Rubizh Brigade's reconnaissance troops approached a Russian strongpoint, removed tripwires.
ISW: Russia tries to close Pokrovsk pocket — Ukraine still fighting inside city center (MAPS). Moscow eyes a propaganda victory, but its sluggish pace shows how hard any further advances into Donetsk Oblast will be.
Ukraine's SWORD GROUP breaks Russian blockade on Pokrovsk front to rescue trapped infantry. Ukrainian special forces unblocked a position in Pokrovsk.
ISW: Russia overstates gains to pressure Kyiv and West to hand over Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces have not yet faced heavily fortified cities like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, ISW notes.
Explosions rock Russia's Kstovo as drone strikes target the oil industry hub overnight (MAP). Nizhny Novgorod airport temporarily halted flights during the drone attack, though no confirmed damage has been reported so far.
Intelligence and technology
Ukraine unveils Protector unmanned ground system with 12.7 mm Tavriia combat module and Browning M2 machine gun. The system's main goal, according to Ukrainian Armor, is to preserve lives while performing essential reconnaissance and combat missions.
International
Merz rules out Russia's G8 return amid European backlash to US peace plan. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected a US-backed clause to invite Russia back into the G8, signaling there will be no return to "business as usual" with Moscow while its war on Ukraine continues.
Moscow rejects Europe's version of US-Russia peace plan, which allows Ukraine to become NATO member. Ushakov says Moscow opposes Europe's terms, which effectively preserve Ukraine's sovereignty.
US and Ukraine report progress in Geneva peace consultations. Just before the meeting, Trump lashed out at Kyiv for allegedly showing "zero gratitude" toward the US.
Humanitarian and social impact
. Russian strikes overnight and this morning damaged power infrastructure in four oblasts, and injured at least 20 civilians.
Promised "safe service," Ukrainians in occupied Kherson are thrown into Russia's front-line meat grinder to fight against their own people. Despite assurances they would not see combat, at least thousands of men drafted by Russia in the occupied region are being sent into active fighting after short training.
"Here on the ground we understand": Ukrainian commander warns "ceasefire talks" play into Kremlin's hands. Soldiers think less about war, more about ceasefire.
Political and legal developments
Ukraine's 178,391 war-crime cases collide with Trump-Putin peace plan that skips justice. Prosecution of Russia's missile strike on a civilian bus serves yet another warning against peace without justice.
New developments
Vacancies: Deputy editor-in-chief, fundraising communications manager. Euromaidan Press is expanding and searching for professional soulmates who believe in independent journalism.
Read our earlier daily review here.
