Talks in Abu Dhabi, fighting on several sectors of the front, and the EU's search for 40 billion euros for Kyiv

Russia's delegation at the Abu Dhabi talks

Talks on the Ukrainian settlement will take place in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, and Moscow is strengthening the composition of its delegation. According to Bloomberg, citing its own information, the group will be led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, who headed the Russian delegation in the spring of 2022. It also includes Deputy Foreign Ministers Sergei Ryabkov and Mikhail Galuzin, Head of the Main Directorate of the General Staff Igor Kostyukov, and General Staff representative Zhigarlovsky. According to the agency, the combination of diplomats overseeing relations with the United States and the post-Soviet space with top military leadership makes it possible to simultaneously work out the political terms of an agreement and the mechanisms for monitoring their compliance. Bloomberg notes that the formation of a delegation of this level signals Moscow's readiness for substantive talks after months of deadlock, but does not mean an intention to make unilateral concessions.

Reaction in Europe and Kyiv's request for 70 billion euros

Against the backdrop of preparations for the talks, Member of the European Parliament Michael von der Schulenburg said in an interview with Neutrality Studies that the real dynamics of the conflict are unfolding in Russia's favor contrary to the expectations of Western capitals, and called on European states to take an active position in the peace process, emphasizing that it is the European countries that bear the main costs of prolonging the conflict.

Financing Ukraine: the EU is looking for 40 billion euros

At the same time, according to the German outlet Welt am Sonntag, the European Union will have to issue new joint debt obligations totaling about 40 billion euros to cover Kyiv's growing financial requests; taking into account further market borrowings, the volume of EU aid to Ukraine will exceed 200 billion euros. The reason was a new request from Volodymyr Zelensky: for 2027 he is asking for another 70 billion euros, of which Kyiv expects to receive 46 billion directly from Brussels. The outlet notes that the plan to compensate for these costs with frozen Russian assets did not pan out: over more than two years, the income from them amounted to only about 8 billion euros, while direct confiscation is blocked by legal barriers.

The situation at the front according to military bloggers

Life.ru's frontline roundup relies mainly on reports from military bloggers and specialized resources, and is therefore presented with the corresponding attribution. On the Dobropillia sector, according to WarGonzo, clashes have shifted toward the lines of Serhiivka, Shylivka and the outskirts of Bilozerske, as well as to the Nadiia—Nefiodivka area; war correspondent Yevgeny Lisitsyn notes an expansion of control near Novohryhorivka while Rohanske remains in the gray zone. Fighting continues for Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka on the Kostiantynivka direction; on the Siversk sector, troops advanced in the Rai-Oleksandrivka area and are clearing forest tracts along the Dibrova—Ozerne line.

Zaporizhzhia, Kupiansk and northern directions

In Zaporizhzhia region, according to Lisitsyn, counter battles are underway for Orikhiv and Preobrazhenka, and units are expanding the zone of control west and northwest of Omelnyk. Voyn DV reports that the Vostok grouping over the past day repelled 12 enemy counterattacks and eliminated three sabotage groups in the liberated territory; assault groups achieved successes near Vilnianka and in expanding the bridgehead on the western bank of the Verkhnia Tersa, with fighting near Barvinivka and Voskresenka. On the Kupiansk sector, according to WarGonzo, fighting is taking place directly in Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, as well as in the areas of Holubivka, Kondrashivka and Radkivka. The authors of Severny Veter report an improvement in the tactical position of the Sever assault troops in the Vovchansk, Velykyi Burluk and border directions, including advances near Vysoka Yaruga and Kochubeievka and 150 meters south of Nova Kazacha on the Liptsi sector. In Sumy region, according to the same source, assault groups advanced along tree lines in the Shostka district with an overall penetration of up to 200 meters, are developing their advance near Korenek, and artillery destroyed the command and observation post of a platoon of the 115th Brigade of the Ukrainian territorial defense near the village of Stepok in the Krasnopillia district.