After a week of uncertainty regarding the possibility of a meeting between Zelensky and Putin in Turkey, it will finally be the delegations of Ukraine and Russia who will meet this Friday in Istanbul for their first direct encounter on the war since 2022.
Last week, the Russian president offered to have direct talks, and the Ukrainian president challenged him to a personal meeting, but the Kremlin has ultimately sent a second-level delegation, dampening hopes of significant progress. This is how Donald Trump himself has interpreted it, who had offered to travel to Turkey for the meeting, and has assessed that "nothing will happen" until he meets personally with his Russian counterpart.
The Ukrainian delegation is expected to be led by the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, while the Russian delegation will include presidential advisor Vladimir Medinsky, a Deputy Foreign Minister, a Deputy Defense Minister, and a high-ranking official from the General Staff.
Volodymyr Zelensky explained yesterday, after meeting with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that Ukraine's priority will be to achieve a ceasefire of at least 30 days. The Ukrainian president mentioned that representatives from Turkey and the US will also participate in the meeting.
Ukraine loses an F-16 and the pilot ejects
The Ukrainian Air Force has reported in a statement that they lost an F-16 fighter jet after an onboard incident, although the pilot ejected safely. "According to preliminary data, an unusual situation arose on board. The pilot steered the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected," they said in a message on Telegram. The Air Force indicated that the accident did not appear to be due to Russian fire, and a commission has been appointed to investigate all the circumstances of the incident.
This is the second accident involving an F-16 since Kiev began receiving the fighter jets from US allies last year as part of a program approved by the administration of former US President Joe Biden. At the end of August 2024, an F-16 crashed, and its pilot died while repelling a major Russian air attack.
Sources from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs have reported that Turkey will participate in two trilateral meetings this Friday in Istanbul as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
A meeting between Turkish, American, and Ukrainian officials is scheduled for 7:45 GMT, followed by talks between the delegations of Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine at 9:30 GMT.
The Ukrainian delegation is led by the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, who traveled to Istanbul along with the rest of the negotiating team on Thursday night from Ankara.
The Russian delegation - consisting of presidential advisor Vladimir Medinsky, a Deputy Foreign Minister, a Deputy Defense Minister, and a high-ranking official from the General Staff - arrived in Istanbul on Thursday morning for the negotiations.
Turkey hosts a meeting between Ukraine and Russia marked by pessimism
Delegations from Russia and Ukraine are scheduled to meet in Istanbul this Friday for their first direct encounter on the war since 2022, amid low expectations due to very divergent positions and the absence of Vladimir Putin.
After months of pressure from the United States on both sides and an ultimatum from Kiev's European allies, the Russian president proposed direct talks with Ukraine last Saturday to try to end over three years of war. His Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, accepted and challenged him to come in person to the Turkish city, but the Kremlin sent a second-level delegation that dashed hopes of progress.
US President Donald Trump offered to travel to Turkey and estimated that "nothing will happen" until he meets personally with his Russian counterpart.
The meeting was initially scheduled for Thursday but, after a confusing day and an exchange of insults between both parties, it is expected to take place on Friday with the mediation of Turkey.
As announced by a source from the host country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there will be two trilateral meetings: one between Turkey, Ukraine, and the United States, followed by another between Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine.