Ukraine and Russia to hold peace talks on Wednesday

Russia and Ukraine will have a new range of peace talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, said Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski.

“Today I discussed with (Ukrainian chief of the Security Council) Rustem Musrov preparation for the exchange of prisoners and another meeting in Turkey with the Russian side,” Zelenski said at his daily address on Monday. “Musrov announced that the meeting was scheduled for Wednesday.”

Zelenski offered new negotiations over the weekend, days after US President Donald Trump threatened Russia with “heavy” sanctions if there was no termination of fire between Moscow and Kiev within 50 days.

On Tuesday, Moscow said he did not expect a “miraculous breakthrough” from the conversations.

“We intend to pursue our interests. We intend to guarantee our interests and fulfill the tasks we have set ourselves from the beginning,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at his Daily Press briefing.

He said he hoped the conversations to be held this week without meeting.

Two previous rounds of direct conversations between Moscow and Kiev in Istanbul failed to make progress towards ceasing the fire. Both nations remain far apart with regard to how it can be achieved.

Washington has promised new weapons for the Ukrainian military after Russia has intensified attacks.

A child was killed overnight on Tuesday when a Russian sliding bomb hit an apartment block in the eastern city of Kramask, local officials said. Six districts of the capital Kyiv had been under a combined attack on a drone and a rocket.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian forces have said they have repelled more than 50 attacks in the Pokrovsk region in Eastern Ukraine, where Russia has concentrated much of its firing power in recent months. Russian sabotage groups have already tried to enter the city, according to the military commander of Ukraine, Alexander Syky.

The Russian news agency RIA, a source, said the last round of negotiations would be held for two days, on Thursday and Friday.

A spokesman for the Turkish government has said that negotiations on Wednesday will be held in the same place where previous negotiations in May and June have not been able to work to end the fire, according to Agance France-Presse.

The talks about this week will be another attempt to end the war, which has been going on for more than three years, and will come after Trump expressed dissatisfaction with Vladimir Putin. The US President told the BBC that he was “disappointed” but “not done” with the Russian leader.

Conversations in Istanbul can focus on the more exchanges of prisoners and a possible meeting between Zelenski and Putin, a senior Ukrainian employee told AFP.

Moscow, however, has downplayed the likelihood of a specific result soon.

Commenting on the prospects for the breakthrough, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that the two sides were “diametrically opposite” and “many diplomatic work is yet to come.”

Russia has strengthened its drones and rocket attacks against Ukrainian cities in recent weeks, causing record civil civilians. He started a full -scale invasion of his neighbor in 2022.