Russia-Ukraine War. Day 1200

The DeepState analytical project reported that Russian troops had occupied two more towns in the north of Sumy Oblast. "The enemy has occupied Kindrativka and Oleksiivka," it reported.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that without "eliminating the root causes of the conflict" Moscow would not allow the Ukrainian Defense Forces "to use the breaks for rest and regrouping."

Ryabkov stressed that Donald Trump's return to the White House had become a "pretext for cautious optimism" for Russia regarding the normalization of relations with the United States.

According to the deputy minister, Putin during his phone calls with Trump allegedly “reaffirmed the basic position regarding the need to eliminate the root causes of the conflict as part of political and diplomatic efforts.” According to the Russian diplomat, the Kremlin’s position is well known to Washington and threats of sanctions will not change it.

US President Donald Trump expressed his opinion on the successful operation of Ukrainian forces "Spiderweb", stating that it only gave Vladimir Putin a pretext to carry out a massive air raid on Ukraine.

- They (the Ukrainians – ed.) gave Putin a pretext to go further and carry out airstrikes at night - Trump replied when asked whether Operation "Spiderweb" changed his opinion on the cards that President Zelensky holds in his hand. - I didn't like that - he added.

The Russian military carried out an airstrike on Kharkiv overnight, using drones, aerial bombs and missiles. The city authorities reported that at least three people were killed.