Ukraine, Russia Set For Istanbul Talks Even As Deadly Air Strikes Intensify Back Home

By RFE/RL June 02, 2025

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia are scheduled to meet on June 2 in Istanbul for the next round of peace talks, even as air assaults are ramped up in the military struggle back at home.

Russian state media reported that the Kremlin's negotiating team had arrived at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport late on June 1 in anticipation of talks to begin at 1 p.m. the next day in the Turkish city.

Meanwhile, in a presidential decree, Kyiv said that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will head Ukraine's delegation, backed by at least a dozen other officials. The decree did not state if the team had already arrived in Turkey.

The US State Department said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had spoken by phone with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on June 1 to discuss the upcoming talks.

It said the call was made at Russia's request and that Rubio had reiterated President Donald Trump's call for continued direct talks to "achieve a lasting peace."

Heading into the talks, Ukraine appeared to bolster its negotiating position after its forces struck dozens of long-range bomber aircraft across Russia with drones that were smuggled in wooden shipping crates carried on truck beds into the country and then launched from nearby locations.

Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed that as many as 40 bombers may have been hit in the June 1 attack, described as an "absolutely brilliant outcome" by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who added that the operation had taken more than a year and half to prepare.

Zelenskyy on May 30 said the Kremlin was "doing everything" to ensure that the proposed peace talks yield no results after a large-scale drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city left almost a dozen people injured and following a series of air assaults on Kyiv had hit multiple residential and civilian sites.

Ukraine agreed in April to a US proposal for a 30-day cease-fire, but Russia has balked at the plan, and many of Ukraine's allies have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to drag out the process so he can take advantage of the current situation on the battlefield, where Russia has been gaining ground in territories it claims to rule.

Much of the destruction has been centered around civilian infrastructure, which Russia claims it doesn't target despite mounting evidence that appears to show the opposite.

Trump's special envoy, Keith Kellogg, said in an ABC interview that US, German, French, and British officials would be in Istanbul or the June 2 meeting.

Russia has said it would use the meeting to present a "memorandum" outlining its terms for a peace settlement. Kyiv said it was ready to take part but wanted to see Russia's proposals for ending the war first.

Suspilne, Ukraine's public broadcaster, reported what it said were the details of the memorandum that Kyiv planned to present in Istanbul.

Russian news agencies reported that Kremlin adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who heads Moscow's delegation, had received the document.

Key points include the call for a complete cease-fire and "confidence-building measures" to address humanitarian issues.

Also, it said Ukraine "does not undertake to be neutral. A state can choose to be part of the Euro-Atlantic community and move towards EU membership. Kyiv's membership in NATO depends on consensus within the Alliance."

Moscow has pressed for Ukraine's neutrality and a pledge by Kyiv that it will not attempt to join the Western military alliance -- points Zelenskyy has long rejected.

The memorandum spoke of potential sanctions relief against Russia, but only under specific conditions.

"Some restrictions can be lifted from Russia, but in stages and only gradually, with a mechanism for renewing sanctions if necessary. Frozen Russian sovereign assets are used to rebuild Ukraine or remain frozen until reparations are paid," it said.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia- istanbul-negotiations-trump-putin-zelenskyy/33431087.html

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Ukraine, Russia Set For Istanbul Talks Even As Deadly Air Strikes Intensify Back Home