Key Events on Day 1,270 of Russia’s War on Ukraine

Politics and Diplomacy

• Russian President Vladimir Putin offered to freeze the front lines in Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhia regions if Kyiv ceded full control of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions during his meeting with United States President Donald Trump on Friday, according to several media sources.
• Trump informed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the offer during a phone call, but Zelenskyy rejected the demand.
• Trump described the meeting with Putin as “a great and very successful day in Alaska” and told Fox News that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war.
• The US president also agreed with Putin that a peace agreement should be sought without a prior ceasefire, changing his position before the summit.
• Zelenskyy, who was not invited to the summit, said Russia’s unwillingness to pause fighting would complicate efforts to forge a lasting peace.
• He will meet with Trump on Monday in Washington, D.C., expressing gratitude for the invitation.
• European leaders have also been invited to attend, promising to maintain pressure on Russia through sanctions and work towards a three-way summit between Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy.
• German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that the US was willing to be part of security guarantees for Ukraine and would discuss with Zelenskyy before his White House meeting with Trump.
• The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, acknowledged the importance of a peace deal but stated that Russia had no intention of ending the war soon.
• The Nordic Baltic Eight group of countries issued a statement, reiterating support for Ukraine and calling for a ceasefire, emphasizing that Putin cannot be trusted.

Fighting

• The fighting continued in Ukraine, with the Air Force claiming to have shot down 61 of 85 Russian drones overnight, while Russian missiles and drones hit 12 locations across the country.
• Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian forces by about 2km on part of the Sumy front in northern Ukraine.
• Russian forces seized Popiv Yar and Ivano-Darivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to the Kyiv Independent.
• Russia’s Kursk region suffered a Ukrainian drone attack, resulting in the deaths of a 52-year-old man and his 13-year-old son.
• Russian forces shot down five Ukrainian guided aerial bombs and 169 drones in one day, according to Russia’s state news agency TASS.