𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call to meet Vladimir Putin face to face as Russia cast doubt on fresh peace talks being held this week.

Mr Zelensky said Ukraine was working to “prepare a leaders’ meeting aimed at truly bringing this war to an end”, as the Kremlin said it did not expect any breakthroughs from fresh negotiations being held in Istanbul on Wednesday.

“Our position is fully transparent. Ukraine never wanted this war, and it is Russia that must end the war that it started,” the Ukrainian president said.

In May, Mr Zelensky challenged the Russian leader to meet him, saying he would be waiting in Turkey for him “personally”.

But on Tuesday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia was unlikely to agree to a peace deal and would continue “pursuing our interests”.

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that there was no basis to expect miracles from a proposed third round of direct Russian-Ukrainian peace talks, and declined to give any time frame for a potential agreement to end the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks in Turkey this week, and that he wants to speed up negotiations for a ceasefire.

“There is no reason to expect any breakthroughs in the category of miracles – it is hardly possible in the current situation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“We intend to pursue our interests, we intend to ensure our interests and fulfil the tasks that we set for ourselves from the very beginning.”

Asked if he could give a sense of how the Kremlin saw the potential time frame of a possible peace agreement, Mr Peskov said he could give no guidance on timing.

“There is a lot of work to be done before we can talk about the possibility of some top-level meetings,” Mr Peskov added, a day after Zelenskiy renewed a call for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia has ‘significantly expanded’ the list of sanctioned EU officials in response to new EU sanctions adopted in May and July 2025, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry did not specify who exactly was on the expanded list. The officials on the list will be banned from entering Russia.

Russian troops killed three people, including a 10-year-old boy, in overnight drone and missile attacks just a day before peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.

The civilians were killed in Donetsk, including a child in Kramatorsk, after Russia launched 42 drones, including Iranian-made Shaheds, on Tuesday morning, according to officials.

At least 26 drones were shot down, and seven more were lost or suppressed by electronic warfare systems. Around 24 people were injured.

A third round of ceasefire negotiations is set to take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on Wednesday, after previous talks in May and June failed to yield any results.