Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- The Kremlin continues to signal that Russian President Vladimir Putin is unwilling to have an immediate bilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
- Russian officials continue to deflect blame for the lack of Putin-Zelensky meeting and Ukraine-Russia peace negotiations by rejecting the legitimacy of Ukraine’s democratically elected government.
- Ukraine continued its strike campaign against Russian military and oil infrastructure in Russia and occupied Ukraine.
- Ukrainian authorities returned Ukrainian civilians whom Russian authorities deported from occupied areas of Ukraine to a checkpoint on the Russia-Georgia border.
- Ukrainian forces advanced in northern Sumy Oblast and near Pokrovsk and Novopavlivka. Russian forces advanced in northern Sumy and eastern Zaporizhia oblasts and near Chasiv Yar and Novopavlivka.
Authors: Grace Mappes, Daria Novikov, Olivia Gibson, Justin Young, Anna Harvey, and Kateryna Stepanenko with Nate Trotter.
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