Talks due in Istanbul

UKRAINE is set to send a delegation to Istanbul, Turkey, today for a new round of direct peace talks with Russia, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, after Russia pounded Ukraine at the weekend with a missile strike that killed 12 soldiers and the biggest drone assault of the three-year war.

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Mr Zelensky said on social media that defence minister Rustem Umerov will lead the Ukrainian delegation. “We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” he said.

Ukrainian officials had previously called on the Kremlin to provide a promised memorandum setting out its position on ending the war before the meeting takes place. Moscow had said it would share its memorandum during the talks.