Constantinople: Why are Russia and Ukraine to fail to fail today’s talks

After more than three years of war, Russia and Ukraine remain a long distance between them and few expect a significant progress in the second round of direct conversations which started at noon in Istanbul.

Both sides are under pressure from President Trump to reach an agreement and wish to show that they support his efforts: Ukraine, who wants to stop violence, needs US military aid, while Russia hopes to see the relaxation of economic sanctions.

Meanwhile, the large -scale Ukrainian attack on Sunday on air bases deep in Russia is changing the balance and is a message from Ukraine to Russia and the West: the country is still fighting and is unlikely to make concessions it considers unacceptable.

What will Russia ask for

Russia has so far rejected Ukraine’s call for unconditional ceasefire before discussing the terms of a long -term truce.

Also, Russia has not made public the terms of today’s meeting, but officials have continued to express demands that have already been rejected by Ukraine, including limiting the size of the Ukrainian army and the recognition of Ukrainian territories confiscated by Russia.

Russia still demands the abandonment of Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO.

Putin has been complaining for years of expanding NATO to the east as a threat to Asialia and sees any possibility of Ukraine’s integration into the alliance as an important red line. Putin’s complaint against NATO dates back to 1990, when he claimed that the West promised not to extend « not even an inch to the East ». However, this was before the collapse of the Soviet Union and was based on a limited commitment made to then Soviet President Michael Gorbachev.

What will Ukraine ask for

According to Reuters in the talks, the Ukrainian delegation, under Minister of Defense Rustem Umero, is expected to present a roadmap for a constant peace agreement that has already been sent to Moscow according to Russian media, which provides:

• Immediate and complete ceasefire for 30 days, with the possibility of extension.
• Exchange of all prisoners of war and return of children from Ukraine who were transferred to Russian territories.
• Summit between Presidents Zelenski and Putin to reach a final agreement.
• Maintaining Ukraine’s military power and ensuring its right to join the EU and NATO.
• Non -recognition of Russian sovereignty in occupied Ukrainian territories and requirement for compensation.
• Use of existing front lines as a basis for future territorial arrangement negotiations.

Ukrainian officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of delaying tactics in the negotiations and some suspect that he is not really interested in stopping or ending the conflict.

What happened during the last round of talks?

Officials from Kiev and Moscow met in Constantinople just last month for their first face -to -face conversations after three years.

Their brief meeting did not perform much more about ending the war. However, they agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war.

Neither Russian President Putin nor Ukrainian President Zelenski were present. The latter criticized the delegation sent by Moscow as a « low level ».

US President Donald Trump was also absent, despite the fact that he was initially expected to attend – and had stated then that he could not expect significant progress until he met Putin.

After the talks, the head of the Russian delegation said « satisfied ». He said Russia « took into account » Ukraine’s request for direct talks between Putin and Zelenski and that both sides would present their « vision for a possible future ceasefire ».

However, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said the Kremlin had submitted « new and unacceptable demands » – including the insistence on Kiev to withdraw its troops from large parts of his territory, he said in return for a ceasefire.

Russia is stepping up the attacks

Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks, and Ukraine says there is evidence that Russia is planning a summer attack in an attempt to occupy more Ukrainian territories.

Last night, one day before the talks, Russia attacked Ukraine with 80 drones, three ballistic missiles and a Cruz rocket, according to Ukraine Air Force.

According to the army, 52 of the drones were intercepted or lost without causing any damage.

The number of drones used by Russia last night is much lower than the record number (472) the night before.

Why the « Spider’s Enterprise » humiliated Russia

At the same time, yesterday’s major attack with unmanned aircraft from Ukraine on several Russian military air bases left more than 40 Russian bomber planes « burned », according to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).

The « spider web business » took a year and a half to be organized and personally supervised by Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski, SBU said.

Sources reported that the drones were fired by trucks after being smuggled into Russia, stored on wooden pallets, loaded on trucks, drove to remote air bases and fired remotely.

UKRINIAN FPV DRONES HAVE ATTACKED OLENYA AND BELAYA AIRBASES IN MURMANSK AND IRKUTSK OBLAST. Russian Tu-95ms Strategic Bombers Are Burning.

Russian Media Reports That Drones Were Launched from Trucks Near the Airbases. pic.twitter.com/asr4iglsyj

– AMK Mapping (@amk_mapping_) JUNE 1, 2025

« Ukraine has had bold attacks on Russia in the past – but this is a new level, » said BBC diplomatic correspondent Paul Adams, writing from Kiev.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelenski described the business as « a completely brilliant result » and said that the actions of the Ukrainians « will undoubtedly stay in the books of History ».

According to analysts, the strategic bombers hit by Ukraine yesterday are not just war tools, they are symbols of Russia’s nuclear power and strategic strategic.

For decades, Moscow has been sending such bombers to missions around the world to promote the image of a nuclear superpower with which one should not deal with.

Now, this image has been severely affected by the domestic Ukrainian drones that cost peanuts.

Yesterday, Moscow is under pressure inside to respond to the Ukrainian attack, described by Russian pro -government blogger as Russia’s « Pearl Harbor ».

Moscow, however, said Ukraine had a « terrorist attack » in five areas, but claimed that they were « rejected » and added that many participants were arrested, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Source: In