Russia and Ukraine to talk about peace; still no end in sight for war

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, but the two sides are still far apart on how to end the war, and the fighting is stepping up.

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US President Donald J. Trump has demanded Russia and Ukraine make peace, but so far, they have not, and the White House has repeatedly warned the United States will “walk away” from the war if the two sides are too stubborn to reach a peace deal.

The first round of talks on May 16 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.

After keeping the world guessing on whether Ukraine would even turn up for the second round, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would meet with Russian officials in Istanbul.

The Russian delegation will be 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.

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, while the Kremlin launched 472 drones at Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said, the highest nightly total of the war.