CNN
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Since last sitting with Ukraine to speak peace, Russia has launched four of its five biggest drone attacks on the country, killing more than 340 civilians and selling false stories about unprovoked wars for over a decade.
Now, Moscow wants to talk. Also.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the next talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place in Turkey on Monday. On Sunday, Kiev confirmed that Russian provincial media reported that the Russian delegation was flying to Istanbul for talks and therefore would send the delegation to the meeting.
Kiev says Russia and Ukraine agreed to exchange their requirements with ceasefire at an earlier meeting in Istanbul last month. But Kiev said he presented the plan last week, but Russia is not.
The Kremlin has so far ignored Ukraine’s appeal to present a plan. In a Telegram post on Wednesday, Lavrov said the Russian delegation would present the memorandum to Ukraine at its June 2nd meeting.
Ukrainian President Voldymi Zelensky said the Kremlin’s failure to hand over its plans was a “another Russian deception,” and he accused Moscow of not wanting to end the war.
“For a meeting to be meaningful, its agenda must be clear and negotiations must be properly prepared,” Zelensky wrote to X on Friday.
Zelensky also discussed the possibility of a second round of peace negotiations with Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erdogan on Friday, writing on Telegram: “We discussed the next meeting in Istanbul.
In a post on Sunday in X, the Ukrainian leader said they had requested “preparation for the (Istanbul) meeting at the highest level” in order to “establish a reliable and lasting peace and ensure security.” Zelensky added that Ukrainian Defense Minister Rasmu Umerov will once again lead the delegation.
But but Russian and Ukrainian officials agreed to meet on Monday. Their summit is unlikely to have immediate results.
A recent statement by Russian officials reveals that Moscow is sticking to its biggest demands.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated his demands that the “root cause” of the conflict must be eliminated after calling President Donald Trump on May 19.
The “root causes” include years of Russian dissatisfaction, including the existence of Ukraine as a sovereign state, and the Eastern expansion of NATO since the end of the Cold War.
Kiev has rejected these requests. Because accepting them is effectively a surrender.
Monday’s talks may be primarily designed to soothe Trump. Trump has repeatedly told both Ukraine and Russia that if they don’t engage in his peace process, there will be consequences.
Trump has put pressure on Kiev to talk to Moscow. If we conclude that Ukraine is not cooperating, we are threatening to step away from consultation and cut our aid.
And although he threatened “massive sanctions” against Russia if he disagrees with the 30-day ceasefire proposal, he also expressed concern that potential new sanctions against Russia could put the deal at risk.
On Friday, a bipartisan pair of US senators met Zelensky in Kiev. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senator Richard Blumental of Connecticut are co-hosting bills that will impose more sanctions on Russia, including 500% tariffs imported from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, uranium and other products. It must pass both rooms in Congress and be approved by Trump to become law.
When asked by a reporter on Friday if he would support the bill, Trump replied, “I don’t know, I have to see it. I’ll see it.”
Putin has not explicitly rejected the ceasefire proposal and instead chooses to be late and distracted.
The claims that Russia has discussions and presents a ceasefire proposal are only the latest example of this tactic only after the two sides meet.
Putin initially proposed the first round of his speech in response to the ultimatum of a ceasefire or rescue given to Moscow by his European allies in Ukraine.
The Russian president ignored the ultimatum and instead proposed a “in-person meeting” between Moscow and Kiev. This led Trump, who initially supported the ultimatum, changed his song and called on Zelensky to “come to the meeting.”
Moscow’s actions have suggested a desire to end the war in a ceasefire since consultations last month.
Russian forces have been intensifying air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, increasing ground attacks in many regions along the frontline, and Moscow has built up its troops elsewhere.
At the same time, Putin has ordered one of the biggest expansions of the Russian army in recent years.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, sources from Ukrainian Security Services (SBU) said Ukraine carried out its most ambitious simultaneous strike at Russian air bases over the weekend, using drones to destroy multiple Russian fighters on Sunday.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukraine targeted Russian airfields in five regions, calling the drone strike a “terrorist attack.”
The previous day, two bridges in the western part of Russia collapsed, killing at least seven people and injured dozens. It was not clear whether the two incidents involving the train were linked to adjacent Briance and Kursk, or whether they caused separate collapses. Investigators on the Russian Board of Inquiry were working on the field to establish what had happened.
The forecast came last month ahead of the meeting, the first in-person meeting between Ukraine and Russia since the early days of the full-scale war. This was mainly due to speculation that Putin himself might appear after he was challenged by Zelensky on a trip to Türkiye.
When the Russian leader sent a low-level delegation in his place, it became clear that there was no breakthrough. The two agreed to hold the largest prisoner exchange ever during the meeting, but there were no signs of a ceasefire agreement approaching.
As for the latest meeting, it is clear that both Moscow and Kiev are particularly keen to talk to each other and have little hope for any actual progress, but they may play just to inspire Trump to interest him.
