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London – The Ukrainian and Russian delegations meet again on Monday in Istanbul, Turkey, to take part in the next round of the US peace talks to end the 3-year invasion of Russia in the neighbors. The talks come only one day after the Ukraine had started a bold drone attack on the strategic bomber fleet of Russia.
So far, revived talks have not reached a peace agreement or even achieved a continuing ceasefire, although President Donald Trump’s government was put under pressure on both sides. The last meeting between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul in mid -May was the first direct contact between the two sides since spring 2022.
Foreign Minister Marco Rubio spoke to the Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Sunday, as indicated by an advertisement published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – who took place “at the request of Russia”.
“Secretary Rubio confirmed the call from President Trump after further direct talks between Russia and Ukraine to achieve permanent peace,” said the Foreign Ministry.
In a statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the two men “exchanged views on various initiatives for the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”.
This combination of images created on May 25, 2025 shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images
Ukraine calls for a full 30-day ceasefire in which peace negotiations can take place. Russia rejected the application when President Vladimir Putin and his best officials assume Maximum war goals that go back to the opening days of the Russian invasion.
The demands of Kremlin include the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – plus the storage of the Crimea, which Russia confiscated in 2014 – the Ukrainian demilitarization and a permanent block for the accession of the country to NATO.
The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a social media post on Sunday that Kyiv’s delegation is headed by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
The President determined the goals of Ukraine for the meeting. “First, a complete and unconditional ceasefire,” he wrote. “Secondly – the release of prisoners. Thirdly – the return of kidnapped children. And to create reliable and durable peace and ensure security, preparation of the meeting at the highest level.”
Zelenskyy and his government have repeatedly accused Putin of having intentionally sabotaged the peace talks since Trump returned to office in January after ending the war within 24 hours on the campaign path. Trump’s threat from further sanctions against Russia does not seem to have alleviated the war goals of the Kremlin.
Zelenskyy and his European supporters have urged Trump to increase the pressure on Putin by introducing new sanctions against Russia and making Ukraine more military support. Keith Kellogg, Trump’s Ukraine-Russian envoy, pointed out to the growing frustration of the president with Moscow and last week told ABC News that the president “saw a level of ignorance that really frustrated him”.
In a telephone conversation with Trump in May Putin said that Russia would provide a “peace memorandum” that is a possible settlement. Moscow still has to provide the document. Vladimir Medinsky-a Putin-Aide and long-time member of the Russian negotiation team announced on Sunday that the Russian team received the Ukrainian version of the Peace Memorandum.
Since the last round of the talks in Istanbul, Trump has hit Putin at Putin – called him “absolutely crazy” – and criticized Zelenskyy again and said about the Ukrainian leader:
Oleksandr Merezhko, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, which represents the party of Zelenskyy and chairman of the Body Foreign Policy Committee on Committee, told ABC News: “The main goal is to avoid sanctions by stating that it is negotiating.”
“Putin is not interested in negotiations and ceasefire because he hopes to start an offensive in the summer,” added Merezhko.
A worker cleans windows in front of the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 2, 2025.
Murad Sezer/Reuters
“On the one hand, he imitates negotiations to avoid Trump’s sanctions and at the same time demonstrate that Russia is not politically isolated. On the other hand, Putin hopes that if he decided to withdraw from the negotiations, Ukraine will leave without military support, one -to -one with Russia.”
The conversations come a day after the Ukraine had started one of the most impressive war attacks. In which source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said ABC News in the manufacture for a year and a half. The employees used attack drones worn by trucks to attack strategic bomber bases deep in the Russian territory.
Moscow has used long-range bombers and its cruise rocket weapons to attack the Ukrainian cities throughout the invasion. The SBU claimed to have hit more than 40 military aircraft in the attacks, which aimed at several aircraft from the Ukrainian -controlled area. Zelenskyy said that 34% of Russia rocket aircraft were hit.
Zelenskyy spoke on a summit of Bucharest Nine and the Nordic countries in Lithuania on Monday and said about the drone attack on Sunday: “Russia has to recognize what it means to suffer losses. This will drive to diplomacy.”
“This is a special moment,” added Zelenskyy. “On the one hand, Russia started its summer offensive. On the other hand, it is forced to take part in diplomacy. And this is also a challenge and a real opportunity for all of us. It is an opportunity to end this war.”
The Russia’s Ministry of Defense framed the operation as a “terrorist attack” and claimed that the strikes were “repelled” in three regions, but noticed that several planes during the attacks in Irkutsk and Murmansk – videos, of which the SBU released, caught fire in airfields.
Also on Sunday, the Russian authorities reported on the collapse of two railway bridges and the derailment of two trains in regions, which were limited to “explosions” on Ukraine. At least seven people were killed, the authorities said.
In a speech on Sunday, Zelenskyy called the Ukrainian drone attack as a “brilliant operation” and said that Russia “had really significant losses”. The President framed the attack as a defense measure.
“We will defend ourselves by all means that are available to us,” said Zelenskyy. “We didn’t want this war for a single second. We offered the Russians a ceasefire. Since March 11, the US proposal for a complete and unconditional ceasefire was on the table. It was the Russians who decided to continue the war.”
“Pressure is really necessary – pressure on Russia that should bring it back to reality,” added Zelenskyy. “Pressure through sanctions. Pressure of our armed forces. Pressure through diplomacy. Everything has to work together.”
In the meantime, the long-term drone and rocket attacks lasted overnight to Monday morning.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia started 80 drones and four rockets into the country overnight, 52 of which were shot down or neutralized. The Air Force reported on 12 locations.
According to Chris Biggers, a consultant who specializes in the analysis of satellite images, the satellite image shows the damage to military aircraft in Russia’s Belaya Airbase.
Chris Biggers / Umbra Space
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that it shot down Ukrainian drones over the night of nine Russian regions over the night.
ABC News’ Ellie Kaufman and Patrick Reevell contributed to this report.