Latest news with #SergiyKyslytsya
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- NZ Herald
Russia offers three-day ceasefire in Ukraine war to ‘collect the dead'
Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya (left,) Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence Vadym Skibitskyi, adviser to the Head of the Office of the President Oleksandr Bevz and Foreign Ministry spokesman George Tykhyi give statements to the press at the Ciragan Palace after the second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey on June 2. Photo / Getty Images Russia offered a limited ceasefire to collect the bodies of fallen soldiers from the battlefield on Monday as a second round of peace talks ended without a clear breakthrough on a wider truce. Vladimir Putin's chief negotiator suggested localised pauses in fighting could be used by both sides to retrieve
Forbes
3 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Monday, June 2. Russia's War On Ukraine: News And Information From Ukraine
TOPSHOT - Head of the Ukrainian delegation and Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov (L) speaks, ... More flanked by Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya (C), during a press conference after a second meeting of direct talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations, at the Ciragan Palace, in Istanbul, on June 2, 2025. Ukrainian and Russian delegations have begun a second round of peace talks in Istanbul, where they are set to exchange plans for how they want to end the three-year war. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images) Dispatches from Ukraine. Day 1,195. Ukraine Carries Out Historic Drone Strike on Strategic Russian Airbases On June 1, Ukraine launched one of its most audacious and effective drone strikes since the start of Russia's invasion, targeting four air bases deep inside Russia with 117 first-person-view (FPV) drones. Codenamed operation 'Spider's Web,' and meticulously planned over 18 months, the attack struck remote airbases in Siberia and the Russian Far East, approximately 3,400 miles from Ukraine's eastern border and previously considered out of Ukraine's reach. Prior to this strike, airfields at these remote locations, where Russia nuclear capable, long-range bombers are based, were considered nearly impervious to attack. Ukrainian intelligence revealed that the drones were covertly smuggled into Russia, concealed within civilian trucks, and remotely activated. Russia's defense ministry said that multiple aircraft were set ablaze and characterized the assault as a 'terrorist attack' despite the strikes being directed at military targets during wartime. The head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Malyuk, said a day after the strike that 41 enemy aircraft were destroyed. Other assessments, however, including one by BBC News Ukraine, tallied a more modest number, upward of 11 destroyed jets. Despite inconsistency in the number of enemy aircraft reported destroyed, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the operation as a turning point, calling it 'brilliant' and 'perfectly prepared' in a Telegram social media post soon after the attack. 'These are Ukrainian actions that will definitely be in history textbooks,' he continued. This operation, which cost Ukraine approximately several hundred thousand to several million dollars, at most, to execute, may have cost Russia as much as $7 billion in lost military assets, according to Ukrainian government estimates. The loss of even a single strategic aircraft, however, is invaluable to Russia, as the country has not produced such planes since the collapse of the Soviet Union and has lost some critical technologies needed to develop new ones. In addition to the blow to Russia's air power, the aftermath of the recent Ukrainian strike, hailed by some as Russia's 'Pearl Harbor,' may still be unfolding. Ukraine has, at least temporarily, neutralized the narrative of a stalemate in the war, exposed Moscow's vulnerabilities, and weakened the Russian delegation's position in the latest round of bilateral peace talks, held on June 2. Ukraine's most complex special operation on Russian territory to date, while hailed as a major success, also carried notable risks. According to an article by The Economist, a senior Ukrainian official, who spoke anonymously, acknowledged that the operation could potentially alienate some Western partners. Additionally, skepticism remains in Kyiv about the feasibility of repeating such an attack, as Russian forces are expected to analyze the remnants of the drones and develop more effective countermeasures, including electronic jamming, as noted by an anonymous Ukrainian military communications specialist in reporting by Forbes Ukraine. Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul, Turkey, for just over an hour on June 2, marking only the second round of direct talks since 2022. Moscow presented stringent demands, including Kyiv's surrender of Crimea and four southeastern regions, three of which are only partly under Russian control, restrictions on Ukraine's military, and recognition of Russian sovereignty, terms Ukraine rejected as unacceptable. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy previously reaffirmed that Ukrainian forces will not withdraw from any territories of Ukraine. The two sides agreed to prisoner exchanges and to each return the bodies of 6,000 deceased enemy soldiers, but no ceasefire or peace breakthrough emerged. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a summit involving Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy, and U.S. President Donald Trump, though U.S. mediation efforts show little progress. Russia's Attacks on Ukraine Between May 30 and June 2, Russian forces launched a series of deadly attacks across southern and northeastern Ukraine, killing at least seven civilians. In the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, artillery and drone strikes killed four civilians, including a child. Meanwhile, three residents were killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv oblast, or province. A Russian missile struck a Ukrainian military training facility on June 1, leaving at least 12 servicemembers dead and more than 60 injured despite an air raid alert that had sent most personnel into shelters during the attack. No mass gatherings were reported at the facility. Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation to assess accountability and vowed consequences for any security lapses. Ukrainian Ground Forces Commander Mykhailo Drapatyi resigned following the deadly strike, citing a sense of personal responsibility. On June 1, two railway bridges collapsed in Russia's southwestern Bryansk and Kursk regions. In Bryansk, a road overpass bridge collapsed, sending multiple vehicles plunging onto a passenger train bound for Moscow; seven people were killed and more than 70 others injured. Authorities determined an explosion caused the collapse and opened a criminal investigation. In Kursk, a freight train derailed after a bridge fell, injuring a crew member. The Kremlin blamed Ukraine in both cases. By Danylo Nosov, Karina L. Tahiliani
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Russia rejected offer of unconditional ceasefire at talks, Ukrainian negotiator says
Russia rejected an unconditional ceasefire with Ukraine at the talks in Istanbul, Kyiv negotiator Sergiy Kyslytsya says. Moscow has consistently rejected extended ceasefire proposals, arguing they would give Ukraine time to rearm and regroup at a time Russian forces are making battlefield advances. Ukraine has proposed a further round of talks with Russia before the end of June
News18
4 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Russia Rejects 'Unconditional Ceasefire' With Ukraine As Istanbul Peace Talks End
Last Updated: Russia refused to agree to an unconditional ceasefire during peace talks with Ukraine held in Istanbul on Monday, according to a Kyiv negotiator. Russia refused to agree to an unconditional ceasefire during peace talks with Ukraine held in Istanbul on Monday, according to a Kyiv negotiator. In the backdrop of an escalating war, Ukrainian and Russian delegates held the second round of peace talks in Turkey, which lasted about an hour, reports claimed. 'The Russian side continued to reject the motion of an unconditional ceasefire," Sergiy Kyslytsya told reporters in a press conference after the talks. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that both countries are working on a fresh prisoner exchange, as decided during the talks. His chief of staff also stated that during Monday's talks, the Ukrainian delegation presented Russia with a list of deported children whom Ukraine is seeking to have returned. The second round of talks, hosted by Turkish officials, follows the initial negotiations on May 16, which lasted two hours and resulted in a large-scale prisoner exchange but made little headway toward ending the war. Moscow To Hit Back? Tensions ran high in Russia as the talks began, with prominent war bloggers urging Moscow to deliver a powerful retaliatory strike against Kyiv. The calls followed one of Ukraine's most daring attacks of the war on Sunday, which targeted Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers in Siberia and other locations. According to reports, the strikes targeted bases in Russia's Arctic, Siberia and Far East, over 7,000 kilometres from Ukraine. Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, reacted to the drone operation by Kyiv and said, 'Destruction of 40 Russian jets isn't random. Russia keeps launching 500 drones and missiles at us—it's only a matter of time before things start shifting on their end." The estimated cost of the damage exceeds USD 2 billion, making it one of the most expensive single attacks on Russia's air assets since the war began, she claimed on X. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the operation 'brilliant," adding that such setbacks would push Russia toward diplomacy and peace. First Published:
South China Morning Post
17-05-2025
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Trump hints at meeting Putin to ‘make a deal' on Ukraine war
US President Donald Trump predicted he would probably meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin, suggesting that he saw a potential face-to-face encounter as the only way to broker an end to the war in Ukraine. 'I think we'll make a deal. We have to get together and I think we'll probably schedule it because I'm tired of having other people go and meet and everything else,' Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Friday evening. The interview was recorded while Trump was in the Middle East and broadcast as he was returning to Washington from a tour that took him to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he 'may' call Putin to get peace talks on track 'as soon as we can set it up'. Ukraine Deputy Foreign Minister Sergiy Kyslytsya (left), flanked by Ukraine's top negotiator and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, speaks to journalists after a meeting with the Russian delegates in Istanbul on Friday. Photo: AFP
