Breakthrough near Kursk and Zelenskyy's new military offer to Middle Eastern countries

The situation on the Russian-Ukrainian war front has entered a new phase, in which Ukrainian armed forces are beginning to regain operational initiative. According to the latest reports, the pace of Russian advances has significantly slowed, and Ukrainians have managed to liberate areas with a total area exceeding territorial losses from the same period. This is the first such case since the operation in the Kursk region, which is generating cautious optimism in Kyiv. However, these successes come at the cost of a continuous struggle against Russia's air terror campaign – in Kherson, drone strikes caused the deaths of more civilians. The Russians have shifted the focus of their actions to destroying railway infrastructure, aiming to paralyze the logistics delivering Western weaponry to the front line. The Crimean Peninsula, illegally annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014, has become the main testing ground for a new generation of Russian equipment jamming satellite communications, forcing Ukrainian engineers to continuously modify drones. In the diplomatic sphere, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has put forward a bold proposal to Persian Gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine, struggling with a critical shortage of ammunition for Patriot systems, offers its knowledge and technologies in countering Iranian drones in exchange for the transfer of interceptor missiles. However, a condition for this cooperation would be a ceasefire with Russia, suggesting that Kyiv is seeking new security formats beyond NATO. At the same time, Ukrainian parliamentarians are appealing to Donald Trump to understand that Russia and Iran constitute "the same evil," aiming to secure continued US aid in case of a change in the White House. „We offer our partners in the Gulf a fair exchange: our experience in fighting drones that also threaten their oil installations, in exchange for supporting our air shield.” — Volodymyr Zelenskyy The energy situation in Europe remains unstable. Vladimir Putin is considering a complete halt to gas transmission to European markets, which would particularly hit the southern flank: Italy, Spain, and France. This blackmail coincides with Ukraine's record demand for electricity imports, a result of the systematic destruction of Ukrainian power plants. Poland and other NATO's eastern flank countries warn that escalation of the conflict in the Middle East could divert Washington's attention from Ukraine, creating a real risk to the continuity of ammunition supplies. Despite these challenges, Ukraine declares technical readiness for European Union membership, hoping for an accelerated accession path.