Zelensky will ‘only meet Putin’ in Turkey

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Zelensky will ‘only meet Putin’ in Turkey

Volodymyr Zelensky will only meet with Vladimir Putin for peace talks in Turkey on Thursday and not other lesser ranking Russian officials, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, held talks with his Turkish counterpart late last night to discuss the planned negotiations, but the Kremlin has not yet confirmed who it will send.

The Ukrainian president insisted in his evening address last night that he was “ready” to meet Putin for the first time since 2019, and criticised the Russian leader’s “strange silence” over whether he will attend.

“Russian shelling and assaults continue. Moscow remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting. A very strange silence,” he said. “One way or another, Russia will have to end this war – and the sooner, the better.”

Donald Trump said earlier on Monday that he was “thinking about” flying to Turkey for the peace talks after visits to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

“I think we may see a good result from Thursday’s meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” he told a news conference on Monday.

“I believe both leaders are going to be there. I even thought about flying over – I’m not sure where I’ll be on Thursday, I have so many meetings.”

On Monday, Mr Zelensky welcomed Mr Trump’s potential appearance in Istanbul, saying he hoped the Russians would not “evade” the meeting.

It came as Russia drastically reduced the number of drones it fired at Ukraine overnight.

Ukraine destroyed all 10 Russian drones that were launched, the country’s air force said on Tuesday morning.

This is the lowest number of drones that Russia has launched in an overnight attack in at least several weeks.

It followed an intense day of fighting across the front line, launching 166 attacks in one day.

10:05 AM BSTThat’s all for today

We’re pausing our live coverage.

We’ll be back soon with more updates and analysis from the conflict.

09:28 AM BSTEurope to push US for new sanctions – if Putin doesn’t show

Europe will push the US to impose tougher sanctions on Russia if Vladimir Putin does not attend talks with Volodymyr Zelensky in Istanbul on Thursday.

Ukraine’s European allies are holding back on pushing Donald Trump as they wait for the Kremlin’s answer on whether the Russian president will attend.

Mr Zelensky reiterated on Monday that he was ready to meet Putin on Thursday.

08:43 AM BSTPutin ‘very strangely silent’ on peace talks, says Zelensky

Vladimir Putin is “very strangely silent” about attending peace talks in Turkey on Thursday, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

“Russian shelling and assaults continue. Moscow remained silent all day regarding the proposal for a direct meeting. A very strange silence,” he said in his evening address.

“One way or another, Russia will have to end this war – and the sooner, the better.”

08:28 AM BSTYour views…07:59 AM BSTTrump lands in Saudi Arabia

Donald Trump has arrived in Saudi Arabia, kicking off a four-day visit to the Gulf region.

Much of the US president’s focus will be on the war in Gaza and the threat of Iran’s nuclear programme.

But Mr Trump suggested yesterday that he could fly to Turkey on Thursday to join potential talks between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at King Khalid International Airport Royal Terminal in Riyadh – AP

07:38 AM BSTRussia launches 10 drones overnight

Ukraine destroyed all 10 Russian drones that were launched overnight, the country’s air force said on Tuesday.

This is the lowest number of drones that Russia has launched in an overnight attack in at least several weeks.

07:21 AM BSTHow Trump can ramp up pressure on Putin

Foreign sanctions have deprived Russian industry of critical materials it needs to produce Russia’s best weapons. Case in point: tantalum, a rare mineral that many high-tech industries rely on for capacitors, writes David Axe.

The best Russian cruise and ballistic missiles, drones and tanks all include processors, navigation systems or radios that have tantalum capacitors. But most of the tantalum comes from abroad – the Democratic Republic of Congo, Brazil and China are main suppliers – and sanctions imposed by the United States and various European countries have squeezed that supply.

“While Russia has its own tantalum deposits, they are significantly smaller,” Ukrainian analysis group Frontelligence Insight reported earlier this year. Moreover, “Russia lacks advanced processing facilities to produce high-quality tantalum powder needed for capacitors.”

The bottom line is that sanctions “are actually working,” Frontelligence concluded. But will sanctions survive the chaotic, authoritarian administration of US president Donald Trump?

07:13 AM BSTTrump toys with late entrance to peace talks

Donald Trump said he could join peace talks between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin in Istanbul on Thursday.

The US president predicted a “good outcome” for the meeting, but said his attendance depended on his schedule.

“I think we may see a good result from Thursday’s meeting in Turkey between Russia and Ukraine,” he told a news conference on Monday.

“I believe both leaders are going to be there. I even thought about flying over – I’m not sure where I’ll be on Thursday, I have so many meetings.”

On Monday, Mr Zelensky welcomed Mr Trump’s potential appearance in Istanbul, saying he hoped the Russians would not “evade” the meeting.

07:12 AM BSTWelcome to our live coverage

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

We’ll bring you the latest news and analysis throughout the day.

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