Russia launches deadly attacks across Ukraine before Istanbul talks with Kyiv – Russia-Ukraine war live
Russian shelling and air attacks kill five near Zaporizhzhia before second round of peace talks in Istanbul
6/2/25Russia has also been launching attacks ahead of the second round of direct talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Turkey today.
Russian shelling and air attacks killed five people outside the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, while a drone attack on the northeast region of Sumy injured at least six people early on Monday, including two children, regional officials said.
Ivan Fedorov, the governor of Zaporizhzhia, said three women were killed by Russian shelling targeting the village of Ternuvate, east of Zaporizhzhia yesterday evening.
A man died in a nearby district in a Russian strike by a guided aerial bomb, Fedorov added.
One person was killed in Russian attacks on Kostyantynivka, a town in the eastern industrial region of Donetsk, on Sunday, governor Vadym Filashkin wrote in a Telegram post earlier today.
In the Kherson region, three people were killed and at least 19 others were injured, including two children, governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported this morning in one of his regular updates on Telegram.
Ukraine delegation arrives in Istanbul for talks with Russian officials
A Ukrainian delegation has arrived in Istanbul for talks with Russian officials with a meeting planned for Monday afternoon, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry said.
The two sides are set to hold their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, but are still far apart on how to end the war amid an increase in fighting.
After days of uncertainty over whether Ukraine would even attend, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said defence minister Rustem Umerov would meet Russian officials. The first round of the talks more than a week ago yielded the biggest prisoner exchange of the war – but no sense of any consensus on how to halt the fighting.
The two sides will in Turkey present their respective documents outlining their ideas for peace terms, according to US envoy Keith Kellogg, though it is clear that after three years of Russia’s full-scale assault on Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv remain far apart.
Russia’s lead negotiator, presidential adviser Vladimir Medinsky, was quoted by Tass news agency as saying the Russian side had received a memorandum from Ukraine on a settlement. Zelenskyy had complained for days that Russia had failed to provide a memorandum with its proposals.