Delegations from Ukraine and Russia met in Istanbul on Monday for the second round of peace talks in just over two weeks, aiming to find a way to end the three-year conflict.The talks come just after Ukraine launched a surprise attack on four Russian airbases located thousands of kilometres apart. Ukraine said the raid destroyed more than 40 warplanes and was the largest strike on Russian territory since the war began. The strikes targeted bases in Russia’s Arctic, Siberia and Far East, over 7,000 kilometres from Ukraine.Vasyl Maliuk, head of the Ukrainian security service and the operation’s planner, described the attack as “a major slap in the face for Russia’s military power.” He explained that the drone strikes happened simultaneously across three time zones and involved complex logistics that took more than a year and a half to prepare.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the operation “brilliant,” while adding that such setbacks would push Russia toward diplomacy. “Russia must feel what its losses mean. That is what will push it toward diplomacy,” Zelenskyy said during a summit with Nordic and Nato eastern flank leaders in Vilnius, Lithuania.At the same time, Russia responded with the highest number of drone attacks since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. Ukraine’s air force said 472 drones were launched on Sunday, aiming to overwhelm Ukrainian air defences. Despite the escalation in fighting, officials from both sides expressed cautious attitudes toward the talks. The first round, held in Istanbul on May 16, lasted less than two hours and resulted only in an agreement on a large prisoner swap. There were no major breakthroughs on ending the war.US efforts to push for a ceasefire have so far failed. Ukraine has agreed to the ceasefire, but the Kremlin has effectively rejected it. During the talks, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan chaired the sessions, with officials from the Turkish intelligence agency also present. The Ukrainian delegation was led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, and the Russian side was headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin.The meeting came as fierce fighting continued along the long front line of nearly 1,000 kilometres. Russian forces shelled the southern Kherson region, killing three people and injuring 19, including two children. Around the city of Zaporizhzhia, missile strikes and shelling killed five and injured nine.Russia’s defence ministry said its air defences shot down 162 Ukrainian drones overnight in several Russian regions, including Crimea. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force claimed it damaged 52 out of 80 drones launched by Russia overnight.Russian media gave little attention to the recent Ukrainian airbase attacks, with state television briefly reporting the ministry of defence’s statement before shifting focus back to Russian drone strikes on Ukrainian positions.Zelenskyy warned that if the Istanbul talks failed to deliver results, stronger sanctions against Russia would be urgently needed.
