Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the US is making its offer of security guarantees for a peace deal in Ukraine conditional on Kyiv ceding all of the eastern region of Donbas to Russia. In an interview with Reuters, the Ukrainian president said Donald Trump is applying pressure to Ukraine to bring a quick end to the war, partly because of US focus on its conflict with Iran.
“The Middle East definitely has an impact on President Trump, and I think on his next steps. President Trump, unfortunately, still chooses a strategy of putting more pressure on the Ukrainian side,” Zelenskyy said. He stressed that the eastern part of Ukraine is part of the country's security guarantees.
Zelenskyy also alleged that Russia sought to blackmail the US by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if Washington cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data. He said Ukraine had “irrefutable” evidence of Russian intelligence sharing with Iran, but did not provide further details.
Ukrainian drone attacks damaged an industrial area near one of Russia’s largest oil refineries in the Leningrad region, according to Governor Alexander Drozdenko. Meanwhile, Russian attacks killed two people in Kharkiv and damaged port facilities in Izmail. Ukrainian drone strikes also killed two people in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Zimbabwe reported that 15 of its citizens had been killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine, with the information minister describing it as human trafficking via social media. Separately, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had given the military permission to board and detain Russian ships linked to a “shadow fleet” enabling oil exports despite sanctions.
