Ukraine and Russia Hold Peace Talks in Turkey Amid Ongoing Attacks

ISTANBUL (AP) Delegations representing Ukraine and Russia met at Turkey on Monday to begin their second round of peace talks that lasted just two weeks, but the expectations were not high for major progress towards ending the three-year conflict after a series of significant attacks that occurred over the weekend.

Ukraine has announced that on Sunday, it will launch an astonishing surprise attack against five Russian air bases located thousands of kilometres (miles) from each other, ranging from air bases near Moscow to Russian targets in the Arctic, Siberia, and Far East. The targets are more than seven thousand km (4,300 miles) away from Ukraine.

Over 40 Russian aircraft were taken out of service, Ukraine claimed, in the Ukrainian the president Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as the “brilliant operation” that involved more than a whole year of planning.

In the meantime, Russia on Sunday launched the most drones -472- – on Ukraine since the massive invasion in February 2022, the Ukrainian air force announced, in an apparent efforts to overpower the air defenses.

U.S.-led efforts to force both sides to agree to the ceasefire have been unsuccessful. Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire, but the Kremlin has firmly rejected the proposal. Institute for the Study of War is a Washington-based think tank. On Sunday night it concluded that “Russia is Trying to stall negotiations and extend the conflict to secure more battlefield advantages.” Around the same time, worldwide fears of the war’s fallout and intensifying trade tensions brought Asian stocks lower, with oil prices on the rise.

Recent statements by senior officials from both countries show they’re not in agreement on the main conditions for ending the conflict.

First round negotiations took place on May 17, and also in Istanbul and concluded in just two hours. Both sides had reached an agreement on a massive prisoner swap; however, there was not a breakthrough.

Heorhii Tykhyi, a representative of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, shared in a message to the Ukrainian Embassy’s WhatsApp group that the delegation, led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, was in Istanbul to attend Monday’s meeting.

The Russian delegation, headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, arrived Sunday night, Russian state media reported.

Turkish officials announced that the meeting will begin in the morning at 1.30 p.m. at local time.  The Turkish Foreign Ministry regarded the United States most importantly, and everyone present at the meeting claimed it was a proper, sensitive and important issue to regard Turkey as an ally.

Then, Ukrainian spokesperson Tykhyi said that the beginning would occur at the midday hour local time. It was not possible immediately to determine the reason for the difference.

Fighting has raged on the approximately 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) frontline, as both parties have pounded the other’s territory with heavy strike.

Russian air defenses wiped out 162 Ukrainian drones across eight Russian regions overnight, and in the area of part of Crimea that was annexed to the Ukrainian region of Crimea The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday.

Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 52 of the 80 drones that were launched by Russia over the course of the night according to the Ukrainian air force reported.

Two missiles with ballistic technology hit a neighborhood of homes in the northern part of the Ukrainian city Kharkiv early on Monday which included one that struck close to a school, the city’s mayor told the.

One missile hit an apartment complex, while another struck an area near the university, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a statement. He also shared a photo showing a large crater at the site.

“Standing beside the crater, you realize how differently things could have turned out,” Terekhov wrote. “Just a few more meters, and it would have hit the building.”