𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Russian and Ukrainian negotiators will meet in Istanbul on Wednesday evening for their first peace talks in more than seven weeks, with Moscow under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to strike a deal or face tough new sanctions.

The Kremlin played down expectations of any breakthrough at the meeting, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week should focus in part on preparing a summit between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Naturally, no one expects an easy road. Naturally, this will be a very difficult conversation. The projects (of the two sides) are diametrically opposed,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

A Ukrainian diplomatic source said Kyiv saw a Putin-Zelenskiy meeting as the key requirement for a breakthrough.

“The Ukrainian delegation has come to Turkey prepared to take significant steps toward peace and a full ceasefire, but everything will depend on whether the Russian side is willing to take a constructive approach,” the source said.

A Turkish foreign ministry source said the meeting at the Ciragan Palace was expected to start with opening remarks to the two delegations by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

In just two months, every new digital device in Russia will come equipped with a brand new messenger app, named Max. Beneath its playful white-and-blue logo lies software that experts believe could allow the Kremlin to dramatically expand its capacity to spy on the Russian public.

The app, launched in March by Russian tech company VK, will be installed on every new device sold in Russia from September this year. But there are fears it will work as a “spy programme”, allowing Russia’s FSB security service to establish a rigid surveillance programme.

The app will provide not only a space for messaging and video calls, but will be a broader information system with access to government services and mobile payments, analysts told The Independent. With servers based in Russia, Max will be subject to Russian law, which grants the FSB to have access to certain materials.

A person suspected of being the administrator for the Russian language cybercriminal forum XSS.is was arrested in Ukraine this week, the French public prosecutor’s office and the pan-European police body Europol said on Wednesday.

Europol said the suspect – whose name has not been given – was thought to have earned more than 7 million euros ($8.20 million) via the forum.

“The forum’s administrator was not only a technical operator but is believed to have played a central role in enabling criminal activity,” a Europol statement said.

“Acting as a trusted third party, he arbitrated disputes between criminals and guaranteed the security of transactions. He is also believed to have run thesecure.biz, a private messaging service tailored to the needs of the cybercriminal underground,” it added.

Europol said the cybercrime forum had more than 50,000 registered users and served as a key marketplace for stolen data, hacking tools and other illegal services.

The suspect was arrested in Kyiv on Tuesday in a police operation involving Ukrainian authorities, according to French police and Europol.

More than 220,000 Ukrainians in the Sumy region were left without power after the region was struck by Russian drones, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

“Russian drones struck energy infrastructure,” the Ukrainian president wrote on X. “Due to the damage to facilities, more than 220,000 consumers in the Sumy region were left without electricity — that’s hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian families.

“During this morning, most of the supply had already been restored. As of now, electricity is nearly fully restored in the Sumy region.”

He added that the Ukrainian delegation at today’s talks in Turkey will “insist on the need for an urgent and complete ceasefire, including a halt to such strikes on civilian infrastructure”.

Volodymyr Zelensky has gathered the chiefs of anti-corruption agencies with law enforcement bosses as he looks to show unity during a fractious week for Kyiv.

“It was a much-needed meeting — a frank and constructive conversation that truly helps,” the Ukrainian president wrote on social media.

“We all share a common enemy: the Russian occupiers. And defending the Ukrainian state requires a strong enough law enforcement and anti-corruption system — one that ensures a real sense of justice.”

Mr Zelensky is facing heavy pressure from European officials and the Ukrainian public after his government pushed through laws which will curb the powers of the anti-corruption agencies which have led reform of the country since 2014.

At the meeting were representatives of: the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Prosecutor General.

In just two months, every new digital device in Russia will come equipped with a brand new messenger app, named Max. Beneath its playful white-and-blue logo lies software that experts believe could allow the Kremlin to dramatically expand its capacity to spy on the Russian public.

The app, launched in March by Russian tech company VK, will be installed on every new device sold in Russia from September this year. But there are fears it will work as a “spy programme”, allowing Russia’s FSB security service to establish a rigid surveillance programme.

The app will provide not only a space for messaging and video calls, but will be a broader information system with access to government services and mobile payments, analysts told The Independent. With servers based in Russia, Max will be subject to Russian law, which grants the FSB to have access to certain materials.