Merz said that at some point Ukraine will sign a ceasefire and peace treaty with Russia, and part of Ukraine’s territory may no longer be Ukrainian. He did not specify which areas. President Zelenskyy, speaking to reporters, flatly rejected any territorial concessions, insisting on full EU membership and urging Brussels to accelerate the process.
Merz also argued that if President Zelenskyy wanted public backing for a peace deal, he might need to hold a referendum and tell Ukrainians he had opened the path to the EU. Ukrainian officials estimate that around 20% of the country’s territory is currently under Russian occupation. The Kremlin has pushed for Kyiv to cede the remaining Donbas areas and is seeking U.S. recognition of occupied lands as de facto Russian, according to Russian officials. Zelenskyy has rejected these proposals, calling them illegal. He has promoted January 2027 as a possible target for EU accession, but Merz dismissed that timeline, and the European Commission has not endorsed a fixed date, stating that enlargement is merit-based. Merz suggested offering Ukraine observer status in EU institutions without voting rights.
Ukrainian regional officials reported that an overnight Russian drone attack on Odesa wounded 14 people, including two children, and damaged residential buildings and port infrastructure. Russia’s defense ministry claimed to have taken control of two villages in eastern Ukraine. In Russia, officials said Ukrainian drone strikes caused a major fire at the Tuapse oil refinery, leading to an evacuation. The governor of Belgorod said drone attacks on civilian cars in the region killed three people. According to a Kremlin statement, President Vladimir Putin praised Iran’s independence and offered Moscow’s assistance. Maritime tracking data showed that a superyacht linked to sanctioned Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov transited the Strait of Hormuz.