Latest news with #мирныепереговоры
CNA
6 days ago
- General
- CNA
Ukraine destroys dozens of Russian bombers ahead of second round of direct peace talks in Türkiye
Russian and Ukrainian officials are in Türkiye for their second round of direct peace talks in weeks. Moscow's delegation is headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, while Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov leads his group. Meanwhile, Ukraine said it has carried out one of its most successful attacks on Russian soil. 117 drones were deployed in Operation Spider's Web, wiping out a third of cruise missile bombers at Russian bases. Dasha Chernyshova reports from Moscow.
Irish Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Russia-Ukraine fighting steps up ahead of talks in Turkey
Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022. The two sides are still far apart on how to end the war, however, and the fighting is stepping up. Russia launched deadly attacks across Ukraine before the Istanbul talks. Russian shelling and air attacks killed five people outside the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, while a drone attack on the northeast region of Sumy injured at least six people early on Monday, including two children, officials said. READ MORE The Kremlin launched 472 drones at Ukraine, Ukraine's air force said, the highest nightly total of the war. On Sunday, Ukraine launched one of its most ambitious attacks of the war, targeting Russian nuclear-capable long-range bombers in Siberia and other military bases. A Ukrainian intelligence official said 40 Russian warplanes were struck in a 'large-scale' drone attack. Their first round of talks on May 16th yielded the biggest prisoner swap of the war but no sign of peace – or even a ceasefire as both sides merely set out their own opening negotiating positions. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said defence minister Rustem Umerov would meet Russian officials in Istanbul for the second round of talks. The Russian delegation is headed by Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky, who after the first round invoked French general and statesman Napoleon Bonaparte to assert that war and negotiations should always be conducted at the same time. US president Donald Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace, but so far they have not done so, and the White House has repeatedly warned the United States will 'walk away' from the war if the two sides fail to reach a peace deal. The idea of direct talks was first proposed by president Vladimir Putin after Ukraine and European powers demanded that he agree to a ceasefire which the Kremlin dismissed. Mr Putin said Russia would draft a memorandum setting out the broad contours of a possible peace accord and only then discuss a ceasefire. Kyiv said over the weekend it was still waiting for draft memorandum from the Russian side. Mr Medinsky, the lead Kremlin negotiator, said on Sunday that Moscow had received a Ukraine's draft memorandum and told Russia's RIA news agency the Kremlin would react to it on Monday. According to Trump envoy Keith Kellogg, the two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, though it is clear that after three years of war Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart. Mr Kellogg has indicated that the US will be involved in the talks and that even representatives from Britain, France and Germany will be too, though it was not clear at what level the United States would be represented. In June last year, Mr Putin set out his opening terms for an immediate end to the war: Ukraine must drop its Nato ambitions and withdraw all of its troops from the entirety of the territory of four Ukrainian regions claimed and mostly controlled by Russia. Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul will present to the Russian side a proposed roadmap for reaching a lasting peace settlement, according to a copy of the document seen by Reuters. According to the document, there will be no restrictions on Ukraine's military strength after a peace deal is struck, no international recognition of Russian sovereignty over parts of Ukraine taken by Moscow's forces, and reparations for Ukraine. The document also stated that the current location of the front line will be the starting point for negotiations about territory. Russia currently controls a little under one fifth of Ukraine, or about 113,100sq/km, about the same size as the US state of Ohio. Mr Putin ordered tens of thousands of troops to invade Ukraine in February 2022 after eight years of fighting in eastern Ukraine between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. The United States says over 1.2 million people have been killed and injured in the war since 2022. Mr Trump has called the Russian leader 'crazy' and berated Mr Zelenskiy in public in the Oval Office, but the US president has also said that he thinks peace is achievable and that if Mr Putin delays then he could impose tough sanctions on Russia. – Reuters
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lavrov dismisses Vatican as possible venue for Russia-Ukraine peace talks
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 24 cast doubt on the Vatican as a possible venue for future peace talks with Ukraine, saying the Catholic seat would not be an appropriate platform for negotiations between two Orthodox Christian nations, Reuters reported. Previously, Pope Leo XIV expressed his willingness to host the next round of peace talks in the Vatican. Several of Ukraine's partners, including the United States, have suggested that the Vatican could become a neutral platform for further negotiations. "Imagine the Vatican as a venue for negotiations," Lavrov reportedly said during a speech at the Diplomatic Academy in Moscow. 'It would be a bit inelegant for Orthodox countries to use a Catholic platform to discuss issues on how to remove the root causes (of the war)." Lavrov added that he believed "it would not be very comfortable for the Vatican itself to host delegations from two Orthodox countries in these circumstances." Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for peace talks on May 16, failing to reach a ceasefire agreement. During the meeting, Moscow demanded Kyiv withdraw from four Ukrainian regions it claims to have annexed, despite lacking full control over them. Ukrainian officials said the Russian delegation appeared to lack real authority and was unprepared to negotiate substantive terms. One outcome of the talks was a large-scale prisoner exchange, with 1,000 prisoners returning on each side beginning May 23. Ukraine had also proposed an immediate ceasefire and a potential face-to-face meeting between President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin — an offer Moscow declined. Zelensky met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on May 18, following the pontiff's inauguration mass. The Ukrainian leader described the pope as "a symbol of hope for peace" and said the Holy See could play an important role in ending the war. The two discussed the return of children forcibly deported by Russia and other humanitarian issues. Zelensky presented Pope Leo with an icon painted on artillery debris from the front lines — a gift meant to represent Ukrainian children affected by the war. Before becoming pope, Leo XIV denounced Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine while serving as Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru. In his 2022 interview, he described it as "a true invasion, imperialist in nature, where Russia seeks to conquer territory for reasons of power." Read also: BREAKING: Ukraine brings home 307 POWs in 2nd phase of major prisoner swap with Russia We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
