Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Among other topics, they discussed the possibility of a new meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul,

It is believed that Russia has been unable to secure more than one percent of additional territory from Ukraine since early 2024, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio citing that Russian forces have suffered the loss of over 100,000 troops in the first half of 2025 alone.

Last week, Russia fired more than 700 attack and decoy drones at Ukraine, the largest barrage of war, which began in 2022. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the Kremlin was "making a point" with the attack, which appeared to be aimed at destroying Ukraine's supply of Western weapons.

US President Donald Trump’s 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks in Ukraine’s east.

In the 18th round of sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, the European Union (EU) has targeted Vladimir Putin’s income from oil sales. The EU has sanctioned an Indian refinery for the first time in which Russia has a 49% stake.