Trump team has ‘made the impossible possible'
US President Donald Trump and his team have 'made the impossible possible' by bringing Moscow and Kiev to the cusp of their first direct negotiations since 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin's investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has said.
Dmitriev complemented Washington's mediation efforts ahead of much anticipated talks in Istanbul on Thursday.
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Russia Today
an hour ago
- Russia Today
Second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks: Live Updates
The second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks begins in Istanbul, Türkiye, on Monday, on the heels of a fresh wave of dual UAV and missile strikes. Kiev has intensified drone attacks on Russian territory, targeting civilian infrastructure, trains, and military airfields, which Moscow claims are attempts to sabotage negotiations. Just a day before scheduled talks, two bridges collapsed in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk border regions, leading to at least seven deaths and dozens of injured. The incidents were caused by sabotage, according to Russia's Investigative Committee. Later that same day, drones targeted military airfields in Murmansk Region in the country's north, in Ivanovo and Ryazan regions in western Russia, and in Irkutsk Region in Siberia and Amur Region in the Far East. In response to Kiev's raids, Russia has launched several retaliatory strikes targeting Ukraine's defense industry facilities, as well as military assembly points and warehouses. Some military bloggers and analysts suggest that Kiev may have undertaken such actions to demonstrate to its Western supporters that it still has the means to continue fighting Russia, as well as to intimidate the Russian population. On Sunday afternoon, Russia's delegation, led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, arrived in Istanbul. Ukraine's team for the meeting is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. According to Reuters, the delegation from Kiev will propose a 30-day ceasefire, prisoner exchanges (the 'all for all'principle), and the return of Ukrainian children from Russian-held areas, aiming for an eventual meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky. The previous round of Istanbul talks on May 16, the first since 2022, saw 1,000 prisoners exchanged per side. Both parties agreed to draft ceasefire proposals for today's discussion. Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov clarified that Putin is open to holding high-level direct talks with Kiev. However, he said this should be preceded by tangible progress in the current negotiations.
Russia Today
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- Russia Today
Trump promotes claim Biden was replaced by ‘robotic clone'
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Russia Today
10 hours ago
- Russia Today
The last drone parade: Ukraine tries to reset a war it already lost
On Monday, a fresh round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine kicks off in Istanbul. Both sides are expected to present ceasefire terms, though few anticipate surprises. Russia is bringing a detailed proposal rooted in its long-standing demands – essentially a 'Istanbul-22 plus territory' formula. That means Ukraine must abandon its military ties with the West, reject what Moscow calls an 'anti-Russian ideology,' and recognize the current frontlines as de facto borders. Skeptics will argue: as long as the war grinds on, talks are meaningless. But this is the first time in three years that Russia's position is being codified on paper – a shift that makes it harder to dismiss. Putin has been repeating these demands for years, mostly to little effect. Now, even an unsigned document gives the Kremlin a firmer diplomatic foothold. Ukraine, for its part, is arriving with a proposal of its own. According to Reuters, it closely mirrors the draft Kiev took to London in April – a proposal that met firm resistance from Washington and ultimately derailed that summit. Central to Ukraine's demands is a call for binding international security guarantees. In plain terms, Kiev is asking the West to commit to defending Ukraine – not just in theory, but militarily. It's a request Western capitals have been reluctant to honor since 2022, when then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson walked away from the table. That hesitation is unlikely to change now. Perhaps aware of the limited traction its peace terms are likely to get, Ukraine appears to be trying to bolster its negotiating posture through force. On Sunday, just a day before the talks, drones struck five long-range Russian airbases across Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. Russia's Defense Ministry says three attacks were fully repelled, while two partially succeeded. The drones, reportedly launched from cargo trucks and remotely guided via mobile networks, bear echoes of earlier operations – like the 2022 strike on the Crimean Bridge. In that case, truck drivers were allegedly used as unwitting participants. Whether that's true this time remains unclear. What does this mean? For the last three years, Ukraine has launched a bold, high-risk move to break the stalemate and force a strategic shift. In 2022, it was the Kharkov and Kherson offensives – their only successful campaigns to date – followed by Russia's incorporation of four additional regions. In 2023, it was the ill-fated counteroffensive, which failed to gain ground and marked a turning point in the conflict. In 2024, Ukraine tried to establish a foothold in Russia's Kursk region, only to be pushed back into its own Sumy oblast. Whether Sunday's airbase attacks mark another such pivot remains to be seen. But the pattern is familiar: a dramatic gesture aimed at reshuffling a strategic deck that's increasingly stacked against Ukraine. The challenge for Russian leadership is that, while Russia fights for concrete territorial and strategic goals, it does so with little public fanfare. Battlefield updates have faded into background noise. But in a country as vast and largely peaceful as Russia, Ukraine is betting that symbolic strikes – even rare ones – can pierce the political surface. The hope is that such provocations either force Moscow into risky overreach or draw the US deeper into the war. Over time, Ukraine's objectives have shifted – from military breakthroughs to media impact. Like last year's failed push into Kursk, these efforts aren't meant to win the war outright, but to disrupt Russia's slow, methodical advance. That advance, however, is accelerating. According to data from Lostarmor, Russian forces gained nearly 560 square kilometers in May alone – the second-highest monthly figure since 2022. Meanwhile, Ukrainian defenses are crumbling. Drone strikes on Moscow have disrupted civilian air traffic but have done little to halt Russia's daily barrage – attacks Ukraine's depleted air defenses increasingly struggle to repel. In October 2023, Russia launched around 2,000 'Geran'-type drones in one month. Today, it's sending hundreds per day. The Ukrainian army is in steep decline. Troops are retreating slowly, but desertions are surging. In 2024 alone, nearly 90,000 criminal cases were opened for desertion or unauthorized leave. In the first three months of 2025, that number is already over 45,000 – around 15,000 a month. Weapons are also in short supply. US aid is winding down, and Europe lacks the capacity to make up the gap. But the bigger crisis is manpower: many Ukrainian units are operating at just 40–50% strength – some even less. These structural issues, more than any drone strike or headline-grabbing attack, are what shape the real context for the Istanbul talks. Tactical stunts may buy media attention, but they don't reverse battlefield trends. Sunday's attack was likely a one-off – not just because Russia will tighten base security and jam mobile signals, but because such operations require years to plan and a deep human network that's unlikely to survive exposure. Near the end of World War II, Germany pinned its hopes on the V-2 rocket – a weapon launched by the hundreds, against which no defense was possible. It was powerful, terrifying, and militarily useless. The term 'wonder weapon' it inspired now carries only irony. Something similar may be said of Ukraine's recent raids. Their leadership has become adept at orchestrating dramatic military theater. But bold visuals aside, these attacks are unlikely to change the war's trajectory – or Kiev's negotiating hand.
