Belgorod without power. Photo Reuters / Scanpix / LETA.
- The second round of trilateral negotiations involving representatives from Russia, Ukraine, and the USA has concluded in Abu Dhabi. The main outcome was an agreement on a new prisoner exchange under the scheme "157 for 157," which is the first in the last five months.
- According to Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, the delegations engaged in active discussions on important issues, including ways to ensure a ceasefire.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the possibility of holding the next round of negotiations in the USA.
- The Governor of Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported on the consequences of shelling from Ukraine, noting damage in the city. Earlier, a radiologist from the district hospital was killed as a result of a drone attack.
- Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that it will take at least two months to restore the Darnytsia heat and power plant.
- The USA and Russia have reached an agreement to resume high-level dialogue between their armed forces, which was suspended in the fall of 2021.
- According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, 17 drones were shot down in various regions of the country on Thursday evening, including 13 over Bryansk region, three over Belgorod, and one over Kursk.
- President Zelensky also noted that after the war ends, he plans to maintain the number of Ukrainian armed forces at 800,000 and transition to a contract-based system.
- The Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis arrived in Moscow accompanied by the OSCE Secretary General Feridun Sinirlioğlu.
- The Prime Minister of Latvia, Evika Silin, and the President of Estonia, Alar Karis, called on the European Union to appoint a special envoy to resume dialogue with the Kremlin.
- A court in Kazakhstan denied former Russian military officer Yevgeny Korobov political asylum after his desertion.
