Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy says Kyiv cannot win without US support as Putin orders advance in Zaporizhzhia

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy met with Donald Trump in Florida, describing the talks as productive. Zelenskyy dismissed Russian claims of a drone attack on Putin's residence as "typical Russian lies," stating it was a fabrication to justify further attacks. He emphasized that Ukraine cannot win the war without US support and does not trust Putin to seek Ukrainian success. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has ordered his army to advance and take full control of the Zaporizhzhia region. Russian military officials reported their forces were approaching the city of Zaporizhzhia, with Moscow currently controlling 75% of the wider province. Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, asserted that Russia holds the strategic initiative in Ukraine, urging the West to acknowledge this reality. Power line repairs near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have been completed under IAEA monitoring. In occupied Mariupol, a historic theatre destroyed by a Russian airstrike in 2022 has been rebuilt and reopened by Moscow-installed authorities. Ukrainian officials condemned this reopening as "singing and dancing on bones."