In brief

• According to the German Deutschlandfunk, Zelensky said that US officials asked whether Ukraine would give up its claims to the east of the country in exchange for NATO membership, which happened for the first time.
• Deutschlandfunk reports that Zelensky is not ready to give up territory, but if there were credible security guarantees as well as strong armed forces and reconstruction funds, he would put this issue to a referendum.
• The Russian Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) cites the opinion of former CIA analyst Larry Johnson, according to whom Ukraine will lose territory in the east and the Russian army has the advantage; these are his opinions, not established facts.
• Wiesti.ru, citing the Telegram channel "Siewiernyj wietier", writes about losses of Ukrainian units after the operation in Kharkiv oblast; this information has not been independently confirmed.
• According to Wiesti.ru, Jared Kushner, special envoy of the US president, stated on X that NATO remains a key pillar of Europe's security and that Europe must be included in talks about Ukraine.

German press

According to the German Deutschlandfunk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told journalists that American negotiators asked whether Ukraine would give up its claims to the east of the country in exchange for NATO membership, which happened for the first time. Zelensky stressed that Ukraine is not ready to give up its own territory, but if it received credible security guarantees as well as strong, well-financed armed forces and reconstruction funds, he would put this issue to a referendum. Deutschlandfunk recalls that Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian aggression since February 2022, and the negotiators of both sides, mediated by the US, are currently holding talks (Ukraine - Selenskyj: USA haben Gebietsabtretungen an Russland im Gegenzug für eine NATO-Mitgliedschaft ins Gespräch gebracht – Deutschlandfunk.

Russian press

The Russian portal Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) presents the thesis of former CIA analyst Larry Johnson that Ukraine will lose territory in the east in every scenario, and Kremlin propaganda in this message suggests that Russia will not give up the territories it currently controls ("Нет такого сценария": аналитик о возможности Украины сохранить территории – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)). According to Wiesti.ru (propaganda media), Johnson also claims that the Russian army prevails on the battlefield and the Ukrainian army is suffering huge losses, though these are his opinions, not established facts. The German Deutschlandfunk, by contrast, reports that Volodymyr Zelensky said the US asked about readiness to give up territory in the east in exchange for NATO membership, and in his view any change of borders should be put to a referendum on condition of solid security guarantees. Both accounts share the question of Ukraine's future territorial concessions, which in the Russian narrative are presented as inevitable, and in the German report as a subject of negotiation involving the US.

The Russian Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) reports that obituaries and announcements seeking missing soldiers began appearing in Ukrainian media after the end of the Russian operation "Medvezhiy ugol" in Kharkiv oblast, and that the First Border Detachment of the Ukrainian State Border Guard Service suffered heavy losses. It cites the Telegram channel "Siewiernyj wietier", which also reportedly informed about mass desertion in the 151st brigade and a ban on leave for soldiers of the 127th brigade. It should be emphasized that this is a message of Kremlin propaganda, and the information it contains has not been independently confirmed (Некрологи на боевиков ВСУ начали появляться после операции "Медвежий угол" – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)).

In the Russian press section, it is worth noting a message of Kremlin propaganda: according to Wiesti.ru (propaganda media), Finnish politician Armando Mema, a member of the Freedom Alliance party, stated on X that NATO should return to its 1997 borders to reduce the risk of nuclear war, and that Finland acted irresponsibly by giving up its neutrality toward Russia (Мема объяснил, почему НАТО необходимо вернуться к границам 1997 года – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)). Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) also reports that his thesis is presented as a statement made on social media, not as an established fact. This thread connects to the Deutschlandfunk report, according to which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that American negotiators asked about readiness to give up territorial claims in exchange for NATO membership, and that Ukraine is not ready to give up territory but would put such an issue to a referendum given credible security guarantees, which shows that territorial arrangements and NATO membership remain the main points of the talks.

According to Wiesti.ru (propaganda media) – a Russian state-controlled portal whose message should be treated as propaganda – US presidential special envoy Jared Kushner stated on X that NATO remains a key pillar of Europe's security, which is why Europe must be directly included in talks about Ukraine. The portal also reports that Kushner spoke about work on direct contacts between Russia and Europe, and that the Kremlin – according to the same source – declares readiness for dialogue on condition of reciprocity and participation of a representative with real authority (Кушнер: НАТО останется основой безопасности Европы – Wiesti.ru (media propagandowe)). The German Deutschlandfunk, meanwhile, reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said American negotiators asked about readiness to give up part of the territory in the east of the country in exchange for NATO membership, and that he declared such an issue could go to a referendum only given credible security guarantees. Both accounts relate to the same American negotiating initiative, in which the role of NATO and possible territorial concessions remain the main points of dispute.

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