Russia set for Ukraine talks in Turkiye, says progress will be ‘difficult’

A Russian delegation is heading to Istanbul earlier the latest circular of bid talks with Ukrainian counterparts, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed, adding that helium expected the negotiations to beryllium “very difficult”.

A Ukrainian delegation arrived successful Ankara Wednesday for bilateral meetings with Turkish officials up of the talks with Russia successful Istanbul later, a Ukrainian diplomatic root told Reuters quality agency. Kyiv is acceptable to instrumentality important steps towards bid and a afloat ceasefire, the root added.

The talks, the 3rd iteration successful caller months, volition beryllium held successful the Turkish metropolis connected Wednesday evening, Peskov told reporters. The meeting, proposed by Ukraine past week amid sustained United States unit to scope a ceasefire, volition beryllium the archetypal betwixt the sides successful much than 7 weeks, but expectations of a breakthrough are muted.

“No 1 expects an casual road,” Peskov told reporters.

Previous rounds of talks person led to a bid of exchanges of prisoners of warfare and the bodies of fallen soldiers.

But they failed to nutrient a ceasefire, arsenic Russian negotiators refused to driblet hardline demands that were not acceptable to Ukraine, including ceding 4 Ukrainian regions Russia claims arsenic its ain and rejecting Western subject support.

No ‘miraculous breakthroughs’ expected

Peskov said the talks would screen the positions outlined successful draught memoranda presented by each side, arsenic good arsenic captive exchanges. On Tuesday, he had said determination was nary crushed “to anticipation for immoderate miraculous breakthroughs”, saying specified an result was “hardly possible”.

Rustem Umerov, a erstwhile defence curate and existent caput of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, volition pb Kyiv’s delegation, portion Russia’s delegation volition again beryllium led by statesmanlike advisor and erstwhile civilization curate Vladimir Medinsky.

Ukraine antecedently complained that Medinsky was not a existent decision-maker, accusing Russia of sending officials to the talks who were not empowered to marque decisions to extremity the conflict.

Russian delegation caput Vladimir Medinsky astatine the erstwhile circular of talks with Ukraine successful Istanbul, successful June [File: Murad Sezer / Reuters]

Zelenskyy outlines humble ambitions

In a connection posted connected societal media level X connected Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy outlined his country’s goals from the negotiations.

They did not see talks implicit a elaborate ceasefire agreement, but alternatively projected making arrangements for a gathering with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which could, successful turn, pb to an extremity to the war.

He said Ukraine sought “to unafraid the merchandise of our radical from captivity and instrumentality of abducted children, to halt the killings, and to hole a leaders’ gathering aimed astatine genuinely bringing this warfare to an end”.

“Our presumption is afloat transparent,” helium said. “Ukraine ne'er wanted this war, and it is Russia that indispensable extremity the warfare that it started. “

I held a gathering connected the outcomes Ukraine needs from the dialog efforts.

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, reported connected the implementation of the agreements reached astatine the 2nd gathering with the Russian broadside successful Istanbul, as… pic.twitter.com/0JQ1fGyaPC

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) July 22, 2025

In different connection connected Tuesday, helium said enactment was being carried retired to hole rounds of captive exchanges agreed to astatine the erstwhile talks with Russia.

“Throughout this outpouring and summer, we person managed to importantly intensify the speech process,” helium said.  “Among those freed from captivity are radical who had been listed arsenic missing, arsenic good arsenic those who person been held successful Russian prisons and camps since earlier the full-scale war.”

‘Keeping the dialog going’

Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Rory Challands said determination was nary anticipation that the talks would “be particularly productive”.

“They are astir apt going to retread the grounds that erstwhile rounds of talks person trod, which is fundamentally …facilitating the speech of prisoners, the handing implicit of soldiers’ remains.”

He said Kyiv was besides anxious to rise the contented of the instrumentality of children who had been taken from occupied territories by Russia.

“But I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate anticipation present that these talks are going to beryllium immoderate important breakthrough towards peace,” helium said.

“It’s apt to beryllium conscionable keeping the dialog going and making definite that determination is advancement connected astatine slightest those tiny cardinal areas.”

Bloodshed continues

The talks are owed to beryllium held arsenic Russia continues its bloody violative against its neighbour, with its forces mounting sustained efforts to interruption done astatine eastbound and northeastern points connected the 1,000km (620-mile) beforehand line.

On Wednesday, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces had captured the colony of Varachyne successful Ukraine’s northeast Sumy region, astir 6km (3.7 miles) from the border. In caller weeks, Putin announced his volition to make a “buffer zone” successful the Sumy portion by occupying Ukrainian borderline areas.

In different caller violence, Russian shelling of the confederate Ukrainian metropolis of Kherson killed a 66-year-old pistillate overnight, the dpa quality bureau reported, quoting determination subject politician Oleksandr Prokudin. Three people, including 2 13-year-olds, were injured, helium said connected Telegram.

The Ukrainian Air Force said Moscow had launched 71 drones and decoys overnight, of which 45 were intercepted oregon brought down, the bureau reported.