ISTANBUL − Russia's Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Turkey, instead sending a second-tier delegation to planned peace talks, while Ukraine's president said his defence minister would head up Kyiv's team.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy went to Turkey for direct talks with Russia. But the Kremlin sent a lower-level delegation that doesn't include President Vladimir Putin.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy never proposed a meeting with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.It was the Kremlin leader who suggested direct talks in Istanbul to avoid a ceasefire, stated Zelenskyy during a press conference.

A meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is the “only way” to move forward with talks on ending the war in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Thursday. Rubio’s remarks come as a highly anticipated meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials in Turkey was downgraded and moved to Friday,

Moscow’s massacres of Ukrainian civilians blew apart any semblance of good faith as Washington pushed for talks

Russian leader Vladimir Putin is not ready for direct negotiations with Ukraine. His claims of being open to dialogue are just empty talk, stated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a press conference.

Kovalenko highlighted that the Kremlin leader "appears delusional" for continuing to attack Ukraine with weapons like Shahed drones, despite Russia’s repeated failures to achieve its primary objective of destroying Ukraine either militarily or politically.