While negotiations for peace in Ukraine continue to start and stop, and the U.S. is reportedly tired of getting nowhere, Zelensky headed to the frontline. 

Following the successful counteroffensive in the Kupyansk region, the Ukrainian president showed up to congratulate the soldiers who retook the northern part of the region from the Russians.

“Today it is extremely important to achieve successes on the front so that Ukraine can achieve successes in diplomacy,” said Zelensky, reports Portfolio.

Ukrainian intelligence services also successfully used naval drones to attack two cargo ships in the Caspian Sea, which Ukraine said were carrying weapons and other military equipment.

Another report claims that Russian air defenses have been working continuously since morning to shoot down Ukrainian drones, with Moscow still under significant pressure today.

Several Ukrainian sources reported that the massive counterattack in the Kupyansk area of ​​Kharkiv was launched, led by the 2nd National Guard Division. The Ukrainians reportedly captured all Russian-held supply routes north of the city and surrounded the Russian troops in the settlement.

There has been no confirmation of the events from Russian and/or independent sources, with pro-Russian sources claiming that the southern outskirts of Kupyansk and the western part of Radkivka are now simply “disputed” areas.

Kupyansk was one of the first cities to be captured by Russia at the beginning of the 2022 invasion. Ukrainian forces then retook it in the fall of 2022, only for Russia to capture it again in 2025. 

Meanwhile, the U.S. House has approved $800 million in military aid to Ukraine over the next two years by way of a facility that pays U.S. companies for weapons that are sent to Ukrainian forces. The bill has also given a green light to the Baltic Security Initiative, with $175 million for defense support going to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.