Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed without evidence that Russian forces have taken control of Ukrainian cities Pokrovsk and Vovchansk.

Top Trump administration officials are meeting Ukrainian negotiators in Florida this weekend, pushing to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine and setting the stage for key talks planned this week in Moscow with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

A source with direct knowledge of the Florida talks tells CNN the intensive negotiations were a “step forward” and “built on progress in Geneva.”

This is not just about ending a war this is about ending a war in a way that creates a mechanism and a way forward that will allow them to be independent and sovereign and never have

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland for am official one day visit. The Ukrainian president will meet Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin for a bilateral meeting and pay a courtesy visit to newly inaugurated Irish president Catherine Connolly in Áras an Uachtaráin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the talks were "not just about the terms that ends fighting, it's about also the terms that set up Ukraine for long-term prosperity."

The Ukrainian open-source intelligence initiative DeepState, which created and maintains an interactive map of Russia’s invasion, has slammed the team behind a separate mapping tool, Polyglobe, accusing them of improperly using DeepState data to fuel bets on the war.

Reuters followed the fortunes of a group of raw recruits who enlisted in the spring as part of Ukraine’s drive to refresh its depleted ranks. None of them are still fighting.