Russian and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Turkey on Monday for urgent peace talks. Follow Newsweek’s live blog for updates.
Russian and Ukrainian officials are meeting in Turkey on Monday for urgent peace talks, the second round in just over two weeks, following a series of major attacks over the weekend.
The Ukrainian delegation is led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, while Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Vladimir Putin, leads the Kremlin team, officials said. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is hosting the talks at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace.
Ukrainian negotiators plan to present a roadmap for a long-term peace settlement including an initial 30-day ceasefire, prisoner swap and repatriation of Ukrainian children, Reuters reports. If successful, a meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin would follow.
However, the escalating in violence and comments by senior officials in both countries indicate a new peace deal is unlikely.What To Know
The talks come amid mounting tensions after a Ukrainian drone operation reportedly destroyed more than 40 military aircraft’s from Putin’s war machine deep inside Russian territory.
The strike targeted airfields including the Belaya air base in Irkutsk, located over 2,500 miles from Ukraine, a Ukrainian security official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. It marks the first confirmed Ukrainian drone activity in the region.
Russian forces also launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine over the weekend that killed at least 12 service members and wounded over 60, military officials said.
Ukraine’s air force reported the deployment of 472 drones—the largest single-day barrage since the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022—alongside seven missiles.
The talks come amid mounting tensions after a Ukrainian drone operation reportedly destroyed more than 40 military aircraft’s from Putin’s war machine deep inside Russian territory.
Stay with Newsweek for the latest updates.WATCH: Zelensky comments on Ukraine’s recent attack on Russia, calls for ceasefireEastern European NATO nations committed to Ukraine’s membership
Nordic, Baltic, and central European NATO remain committed to Ukraine joining the military alliance, the country’s leaders said after a B9 summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
«We stand firm on Allied decision and commitment regarding Ukraine’s irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership», the leaders of Poland, Romania and Lithuania said in a statement.
«Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and to decide its own future, free from outside interference.»Turkish official tells peace talks the aim of meeting is to reach ‘sustainable peace’
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, by telling both sides he wanted the negotiations to be «fruitful», with the aim of achieving «sustainable peace.
