Delegations from Russia and Ukraine have concluded their latest peace talks in Turkey after a little over an hour, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian state media.
Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, Zelensky stated that both sides “exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and we are preparing a new release of prisoners of the war”.
Expectations were tempered regarding the potential for a significant breakthrough in ending the three-year-old conflict, especially following a series of attacks over the weekend.
Kyiv officials reported that a surprising drone assault on Sunday inflicted damage or destruction on over 40 warplanes located at air bases deep within Russia, encompassing remote Arctic, Siberian, and Far East regions situated more than 4,300 miles from Ukraine.
This intricate and unprecedented raid, which occurred simultaneously across three time zones, required over a year and a half of preparation and constituted “a major slap in the face for Russia’s military power,” according to Vasyl Maliuk, head of the Ukrainian security service, who oversaw the planning.
Zelensky hailed it as a “brilliant operation” destined for historical significance. He claimed it destroyed or severely damaged approximately one-third of Moscow’s strategic bomber fleet, as per Ukrainian officials.
On Sunday, Russia launched a record-breaking 472 drones at Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began in 2022, according to Ukraine’s air force, seemingly in an attempt to overwhelm its air defenses. This attack was part of a recent escalation of strikes targeting civilian areas within Ukraine.
While in Lithuania, Zelensky revealed the preparation of a new prisoner of war release following the Istanbul meeting. The previous direct talks on May 16 also facilitated a prisoner exchange, with 1,000 individuals being swapped by both sides.
According to Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky’s office, Ukraine provided Russia with an official list of children it claims were forcibly deported and are demanding to be returned.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presided over the peace talks held at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace.
He stated that the talks aimed to discuss each side’s ceasefire conditions, adding that “the whole world’s eyes are focused on the contacts and discussions you will have here”.
US-led efforts to facilitate a ceasefire agreement between the two nations have thus far been unsuccessful. While Ukraine has accepted the proposal, the Kremlin has effectively rejected it.
The Ukrainian delegation was headed by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, while Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, led the Russian team.
The two delegations, each comprising more than twelve individuals, were seated at a U-shaped table facing one another, with Turkish officials positioned between them. Many of the Ukrainians were dressed in military attire.
Recent statements made by high-ranking officials from both countries suggest that they remain substantially divided on the crucial preconditions for ending the war.
The ongoing conflict has undermined US President Donald Trump’s ambition of achieving a swift resolution to the war. A week prior, he expressed his frustration with Putin as Moscow bombarded Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities with drones and missiles for the third consecutive night. Trump exclaimed on social media that Putin “has gone absolutely CRAZY!”
A prior round of direct negotiations held on May 16, also in Istanbul, concluded in under two hours. While both parties reached an agreement on a significant prisoner exchange, no major progress was made.
Ukraine has been celebrating the success of targeting the distant Russian air bases.
The official response from Russia was subdued, with minimal coverage of the attack on state-controlled television. Russia-1 TV channel dedicated slightly over a minute to the event on Sunday evening, presenting a brief statement from the Defence Ministry before shifting to footage of Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian positions.
Zelensky expressed his belief that the setbacks experienced by the Kremlin would pressure it to return to the negotiating table, even as it continues its summer offensive on the battlefield.
“Russia must feel what its losses mean. That is what will push it toward diplomacy,” he stated on Monday in Vilnius during a meeting with leaders from Nordic nations and countries situated on NATO’s eastern flank.
Since the early stages of the war, Ukraine has occasionally targeted air bases housing Russia’s nuclear-capable strategic bombers, leading Moscow to redeploy the majority of them to regions further removed from the front lines.
Because the drones launched on Sunday originated from trucks positioned near the bases in five Russian regions, military defences had virtually no time to prepare for them.
Numerous Russian military bloggers have criticized the military’s failure to construct protective shields for the bombers, despite prior attacks. However, the substantial size of these aircraft poses a significant challenge to such measures.
Zelensky stated earlier that “if the Istanbul meeting brings nothing, that clearly means strong new sanctions are urgently, urgently needed” against Russia.
Intense fighting continues along the 620-mile front line, with both sides launching deep strikes into each other’s territory.
Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, resulting in the deaths of three people and injuries to 19 others, including two children, according to regional officials on Monday.
Additionally, a missile strike and shelling in the vicinity of the southern city of Zaporizhzhia led to five fatalities and nine injuries, officials reported.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced on Monday that Russian air defenses intercepted 162 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian regions and the Crimean peninsula overnight.
The Ukrainian air force reported that it damaged 52 out of the 80 drones launched by Russia overnight.
