The US-Ukraine minerals agreement negotiations reached critical phase with security guarantees emerging as central point of contention. Trump's team attempted to remove these guarantees, while Zelensky refused to sign without them. France revealed ongoing parallel negotiations since autumn regarding Ukrainian mineral resources.
North Korean troop deployment to Russia was reported by South Korean intelligence, while ISW indicated Russia's shift toward using ultimatums rather than military force to capture Ukrainian cities. US-Russia talks in Istanbul lasted six hours, as Putin praised initial contacts with Trump's administration.
By evening, Trump extended sanctions against Russia while retracting his "dictator" comment about Zelensky. Turkish peacekeeping forces emerged as potential solution, with Erdogan discussing deployment with both Moscow and Kyiv. Russian forces launched drone attacks on Zaporizhzhia and Kharkiv's energy infrastructure.