The second round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine was held in Istanbul, Turkey, in the hope of reaching a temporary ceasefire and Prisoner exchange.
The Russian delegation is led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, while the Ukrainian side is led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The meeting is scheduled to take place at Ciragan Palace at 1:00 p.m. local time (5:00 p.m. Vietnam time).
Ukraine plans to propose a 30-day ceasefire, exchange prisoners on a "all-for-all" basis and request the return of Ukrainian children from Russian-controlled areas.
Just one day before the talks, tensions escalated fiercely as Ukraine launched a "Splay Network" operation, using 117 suicide UAVs to attack military air bases across five Russian territories, from Murmansk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, Irkutsk to Amur. This is the first time Ukraine has attacked deep into Siberia and the Far East, thousands of kilometers from the front.
For its part, Russia also launched a rapid counterattack, launching a Iskander missile in retaliation, and erasing Ukraine's long-range UAV launch site after Russian military bases were attacked by Ukrainian UAVs in large numbers.
The Russian Defense Ministry said it launched a total of 472 UAVs into Ukrainian territory on the night of June 1 - the largest number of UAVs since the beginning of the conflict. This was accompanied by 7 missiles attacking targets in Sumy, Kharkiv and Dnipro. The attack destroyed the entire launcher, more than 30 long-range suicide UAVs, and 8 Ukrainian military vehicles.
The Russian military also said it had taken control of another 450 square kilometres of territory in Sumy region in May alone - the fastest pace of offensive in the past six months.
Earlier, on the night of May 31, two railway bridges in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions - border areas of Ukraine - suddenly collapsed in what Russia considered intentional sabotage, killing at least seven people and injuring more than 70.
Although the war has not cooled down, both sides have expressed their willingness for dialogue. After the first round of talks on May 16, the two sides exchanged about 1,000 prisoners and committed to drafting a ceasefire proposal.
The Kremlin affirmed that President Vladimir Putin is ready to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky if negotiations make substantial progress. This is a sign that the possibility of high-level dialogue is still open.
It is not yet clear where the outcome of this negotiation will go, but the two sides' return to the dialogue table is considered a positive step in the context of a conflict that has lasted for more than 3 years.
