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ISTANBUL — Delegations from Russia and Ukraine gathered in Turkey on Monday for his or her second spherical of direct peace talks in simply over two weeks, though expectations had been low for any important progress on ending the three-year warfare.
The Ukrainian delegation led Defense Minister Rustem Umerov was in Istanbul for the assembly, based on Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, mentioned in a message posted on the Ukrainian Embassy Whatsapp group. The Russian delegation headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian chief Vladimir Putin, arrived Sunday night, Russian state media reported.
Turkish officers mentioned the assembly would begin at 1 p.m. native time, with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan presiding over the talks and officers from the Turkish intelligence company additionally current.
However, Ukrainian spokesperson Tykhyi mentioned the beginning could be at noon native time. It was not instantly doable to make clear the discrepancy.
Recent feedback by senior officers in each international locations point out they continue to be far aside on the important thing circumstances for stopping the warfare. Fierce combating has within the meantime continued alongside the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) entrance line, and each side have hit one another’s territory with deep strikes.
On Sunday, a Ukrainian drone assault destroyed greater than 40 Russian planes deep inside Russia, Ukraine’s Security Service mentioned, whereas Moscow pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones.
Russian air defenses downed 162 Ukrainian drones over eight Russian areas in a single day, in addition to over the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, Russia’s Defense Ministry mentioned Monday.
Ukrainian air defenses broken 52 out of 80 drones launched by Russia in a single day, the Ukrainian air pressure mentioned.
Two ballistic missiles struck a residential neighborhood within the northeastern Ukrainian metropolis of Kharkiv on Monday morning, together with one which hit close to a faculty, the town’s mayor mentioned.
One missile landed close to an house constructing, whereas the second struck a highway close to the varsity, Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov mentioned in a press release and revealed a photograph of a large crater.
“Standing next to the crater, you realize how different it all could have been,” Terekhov wrote. “A few more meters — and it would have hit the building. A few more minutes — and cars, buses would have been on the road.”
No casualties had been reported.
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Suzan Frazer in Ankara, Turkey, and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
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Follow AP’s protection of the warfare in Ukraine at
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