"You teamed up with Trump to throw the Ukrainian people under the bus. Putin is playing you like a fiddle."

— Senator Chris Van Hollen clashed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio during Senate hearings, accusing the Trump admin of failing to stop the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. "I regret voting for you," van Hollen ended his statement.

💬 Lavrov: “No more ‘ceasefire – then we’ll see.’ We’ve been there before, we’re not doing it again.”

Russia’s FM says EU plans to rearm Ukraine and slams Macron, Starmer & others for “hysterically demanding” the US join tougher anti-Russian actions.

Operators from the PHOENIX UAV Regiment struck big in the Belgorod region— destroying a Russian R-330Zh “Zhitel” electronic warfare system hidden inside a building.

🇺🇸🇺🇦 VP J.D. Vance says Trump's Ukraine stance is driven by a "humanitarian impulse"—not just strategy.

He praised Trump’s people instincts as unmatched and says this shapes his views on Ukraine, Russia, and the Middle East.

🙃

🇷🇺📉 Despite Putin’s claims, Russia’s advance in Ukraine is slowing. New battlefield data shows territorial gains have halved compared to late 2024, with Ukrainian forces holding strong.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has accused US President Donald Trump of poor negotiating tactics in the struggle for a ceasefire in Ukraine. "He simply misjudged the negotiating situation with Putin," the Minister of Defense said.

In a recent call with European leaders, Trump signaled that he was convinced Russia was winning, repeating a number of the Kremlin’s talking points, according to people familiar with the exchange.

Trump: “I called Zelensky, they told me, ‘He’s in South Africa.’ I asked, ‘What the hell is he doing there?’”

He also claimed “tremendous progress” was made on ending the war in Ukraine after his last call with Putin.

Explosion of a Russian ammo depot after a Ukrainian FPV drone strike in Novotroitske, Donetsk region.

Over the past week in Kharkiv region, operators of strike drones from the Phoenix unit of the "Pomsta" brigade have delivered powerful blows to Russian forces: 20 vehicles destroyed, along with three 152mm Msta-B howitzers, one D-20 howitzer, two artillery guns, and six fuel depots.

This right here is the problem with the current U.S. administration: dodging the simple truth that Putin is a war criminal—treating him instead like a future business partner.

In a Senate hearing:

Sen. Keating: Is Putin a war criminal?
Rubio: “We’re trying to end the war.”
Keating: It’s a yes or no.
Rubio: “He’s someone we negotiate with.”

Shameful.

Russian claims they reached the Dnipropetrovsk region border are fake — both the news and the widely shared photo, says regional head Serhiy Lysak.

This is what is left of the Russian group that made a picture near Troitske. Russians found a Ukrainian pickup tangled in wire near Troitske and rushed to pose with it. One of the photo-takers was later eliminated — so much for their "breakthrough."

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte had a telephone conversation with Zelensky - they talked about ways to achieve peace and further support for the Alliance.

"We discussed efforts to secure a just and lasting peace, as well as continued support from NATO, including through NATO Command Wiesbaden, so that Ukraine can defend itself today and deter aggression in the future," Rutte wrote.

Zelensky: "Thanked EU Council President António Costa for approving the 17th EU sanctions package vs Russia. The next must be stronger — targeting energy, banking & shadow fleet crews. He confirmed sanctions if Russia refuses ceasefire. Also discussed opening negotiation clusters on Ukraine’s EU membership."

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian FPV drone operator point. Footage from the Russian side.

Polish PM Donald Tusk warns of a Russian "shadow fleet" ship making suspicious maneuvers near the Poland-Sweden power cable. Polish military intervened; ship returned to a Russian port. Earlier, Estonia tried to stop the tanker Jaguar linked to the shadow fleet.