Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- Russian officials continue to delay high-level negotiations between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin amid US calls for a meeting.
- Russian forces likely seized Novoekonomichne (northeast of Pokrovsk) and appear to be conducting limited sabotage and reconnaissance missions into Pokrovsk amid ongoing Russian efforts to envelop the town.
- Russian forces recently advanced into and northwest of Kupyansk.
- The Russian military command could pursue at least three courses of action (COAs) following a future seizure of Kupyansk.
- The Russian Central Bank lowered its key interest rate for the second time in two months, likely in an attempt to increase capital available to the Russian defense industrial base (DIB).
- The Kremlin dismissed First Deputy Director-General of the Kremlin newswire TASS Mikhail Gusman, likely in a continued effort to increase control over domestic media sources affecting Russian-Azerbaijani relations.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces recently advanced near Kupyansk, Toretsk, and Pokrovsk.
Authors: Angelica Evans, Olivia Gibson, Daria Novikov, Jessica Sobieski, Nate Trotter, Kateryna Stepanenko, and George Barros.
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