Following Putin's equivocal response to the ceasefire proposal, Trump appointed Kellogg as his special representative to Ukraine. Zelensky firmly denied Russian claims of Ukrainian forces being surrounded in Kursk region, while confirming Ukrainian withdrawal from Sudzha. He warned about Russian troops amassing near Sumy region and announced the successful combat testing of a new "long Neptune" missile.
Zelensky formalized Ukraine's negotiating team for peace talks while emphasizing the US shouldn't accept Russia's conditional ceasefire terms. He noted Ukraine's critical shortage of SAMP-T air defense missiles and access to €150 billion in EU defense funding.
Military operations continued with 149 frontline clashes reported early in the day, dropping to 81 by afternoon. Russian forces struck Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, injuring 14 people, and later attacked Chernihiv with Shahed drones hitting a five-story residential building.