Ukraine and Russia Hold Urgent Peace Talks After Deadly Attacks: Live 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.
Stay with Newsweek for the latest updates.
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