ISTANBUL, June 2, 2025 — Delegations from Ukraine and Russia arrived in Istanbul Monday for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, amid rising military tensions after unprovoked drone attacks by both nations over the weekend. These talks came despite reports by The Moscow Times, The Washington Post, Reuters, etc. which indicate military tensions have intensified further than anticipated. Rustem Umerov, defense minister of Ukraine, arrived in Turkey’s largest city of Istanbul this morning to engage in discussions with Vladimir Medinsky from Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky’s Russian delegation at Turkey’s historic Ciragan Palace as part of renewed diplomatic efforts broker by the US towards ending three years-long conflict. AP News +6 The Moscow Times | Reuters +6 This meeting follows Ukraine’s successful execution of “Operation Spider’s Web”, a large-scale drone offensive targeting five Russian airbases located in Murmansk, Irkutsk and Amur regions. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) claimed responsibility for this operation by using 117 drones to damage or destroy over 40 Russian military aircraft such as strategic bombers like Tu-95s and Tu-22M3s – as reported by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself he described it as both brilliant and flawlessly prepared mission. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also applauded this mission as brilliant and perfectly prepared mission. As reported by The Washington Post, Russia launched its most intensive drone assault since their invasion started in 2022 by using 472 drones and several missiles at once overnight – leading to at least 12 Ukrainian soldier deaths and over 60 injuries as a result of this barrage. (Wikipedia +7; AP News +7; Reuters +7); similarly New York Post plus2 had similar numbers of wounded as well. Although tensions heightened, both parties continued their negotiations despite escalated tensions. Ukraine’s agenda includes demands for a full and unconditional ceasefire, prisoner releases, the return of abducted children as well as preparations for a high-level summit between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia maintains its position, insisting on Ukraine withdrawing from four annexed regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson) before any ceasefire agreement can take place and also seeking permanent blocking rights for Ukraine to NATO membership.alitat ABC News President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated over Russia’s intransigence in negotiations, warning of potential consequences if progress doesn’t improve quickly enough. Trump’s administration has actively participated in mediating talks between both countries; Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently reiterated the U.S. commitment to building lasting peace through these negotiations (AP News + The Scottish Sun +1). ABC News As negotiations progress, international observers remain wary about any prospects of an agreement due to deep-seated divisions between both nations and recent military escalations highlighting its difficulty. A peace process must also seek an immediate endpoint of this ongoing conflict.
