Zelenskyy Says New Talks Set July 23 As Russia Continues To Blast Ukrainian Cities

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 22, 2025

KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a fresh round of peace talks with Moscow is set for July 23 in Turkey as the West steps up pressure on the Kremlin to agree to a cease-fire, even while Russian forces continue to launch deadly air strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.

"Today, I discussed with Rustem Umerov the preparation for a prisoner exchange and another meeting with the Russian side in Turkey," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on July 21, referring to the new head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.

"Umerov reported that the meeting is planned for Wednesday [July 23]. More details will follow tomorrow," he added.

Umerov previously was Ukraine's defense minister and led the first two rounds of talks with Russia

Two days earlier, Zelenskyy said he had sent Moscow an offer to hold a new round of talks in the coming week after negotiations between the countries last month made no progress toward ending the ongoing war.

"Everything should be done to achieve a cease-fire," Zelenskyy said in his regular evening address on July 19.

"The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions," he added.

If the sides do meet in Turkey, it would be the first face-to-face gathering in seven weeks. The Turkish government said the talks will be held in Istanbul.

The Kremlin did not confirm the date or location for the next round of talks, saying only that it was waiting for more details and adding that the two sides still held "diametrically opposed" positions on ways to end the long, deadly conflict.

"There is our draft memorandum -- there is a draft memorandum that has been handed over by the Ukrainian side. There is to be an exchange of views and talks on these two drafts, which are diametrically opposed so far," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

The Kremlin has said it welcomes new talks but that the "most important thing for us is to achieve our goals. Our goals are clear, obvious. They have not changed."

It also has insisted that any peace agreement sees Ukraine cede control and withdraw from four regions that Russia illegally annexed in September 2022 but never fully captured.

Kyiv must also renounce its bid to join NATO and accept strict limits on its armed forces -- demands Ukraine and its Western allies have flatly rejected.

Russian state news agency TASS quoted an unnamed source as acknowledging the next round of talks was likely to be in Turkey but could be held on July 24 or 25.

Zelenskyy earlier told a meeting with Ukrainian diplomats that "the agenda from our side is clear: the return of prisoners of war, the return of children abducted by Russia, and the preparation of a leaders' meeting."

US President Donald Trump in recent weeks has voiced frustration over the lack of progress on a cease-fire and last week gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to agree to a deal or face tougher sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has turned down calls from Zelenskyy to meet him in person and has often questioned the elected Ukrainian leader's legitimacy.

Previous rounds of talks were held in Istanbul, on May 16 and June 2. Those talks led to prisoner swaps and the exchange of remains of fallen soldiers but no apparent movement on a potential cease-fire.

Meanwhile, British defense chief John Healey, Germany's Boris Pistorius, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and NATO leader Mark Rutte were among those attending a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal called on allies to rush deliveries of US Patriot air-defense missile systems under the plan set out by Trump.

"I request the US make these weapons available for purchase, and our European partners to extend all the needed financing for their procurement," Shmyhal told the meeting.

Trump on July 14 announced that NATO members would send existing weapons, including Patriot missile systems, to Ukraine and that the United States will be reimbursed for all of the equipment.

On the battlefront, the Ukrainian Air Force said Russia fired 426 Shahed-type drones, five Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and 19 cruise missiles at various locations around Kyiv and other parts of the country. Just under half of the drones and all but one of the missiles were destroyed or jammed, it added.

"Rescue and emergency efforts are underway in our cities and communities," Zelenskyy said.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that one person was killed in the Ukrainian capital, and two were wounded in the overnight attack.

"In the Darnytskiy district, one person was hospitalized. [...] In the Shevchenkivskiy district, where fire gutted two floors of a residential high-rise apartment building, one person required medical assistance at the site, " Klitschko said.

The attack also destroyed the entrance of the Lukyanivska subway station in Kyiv, which has been used as a shelter during air attacks. The station had to be closed.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, in Kyiv for talks with Zelenskyy, visited some of the affected areas.

In the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk, Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv called the attack the largest on the city since the beginning of Russia's the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Russia claims it is not targeting civilian infrastructure with its air strikes.

Ukrainian authorities and international agencies, such as the United Nations and the European Union, have accused Russia of intentionally targeting civilians, in what they say amounts to war crimes.

Away from the battlefield, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and the Prosecutor's Office said they had detained officials from the country's National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) in efforts to "neutralize Russian influence."

The SBU said it had arrested one NABU official as a suspected Russian spy and another over suspected business links to Russia.

NABU said some 70 searches had been conducted by law-enforcement and security agencies in connection with 15 of its staff and alleged that they had taken place without court approval.

"In most cases, the grounds cited for these actions are the alleged involvement of certain individuals in traffic accidents,' although it acknowledged that some of the employees were "accused of possible connections with the aggressor state [Russia]."

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-putin-trump- zelenskyy-turkey-corruption-arrest/33480207.html

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Zelenskyy Says New Talks Set July 23 As Russia Continues To Blast Ukrainian Cities