Summary

  • Ukraine and Russia have agreed to swap 1,000 prisoners of war each after the first face-to-face talks in three years

  • The date for the transfer has been set, but is not being made public, Ukraine's defence minister says

  • Ukraine also requested direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin - Moscow says it "noted" this request

  • Turkish officials, including Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, facilitated the peace talks - which both sides said included some discussion of a possible ceasefire

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urges a "strong reaction" if no ceasefire deal is reached following the talks

  • Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump says he wants to meet Putin "as soon as we can"

Live Reporting

Edited by Johanna Chisholm, with Vitaliy Shevchenko and Orla Guerin in Istanbul

  1. A busy day in Turkey - so who is where?

    Peace talks with Ukrainian, Russian, and US delegations will take place in Istanbul today - but they're not the only high-level diplomatic events taking place in Turkey.

    Russia's presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, deputy foreign minister Mikhail Galuzin and deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin will attend the talks in Istanbul, north-west Turkey.

    Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara - around 250 miles east of Istanbul - to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

    And US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Antalya, in the south of the country, to meet Nato foreign ministers.

    Nato chief Mark Rutte, Latvia's foreign minister, Estonia's foreign minister and Germany's foreign minister are in attendance.

    BBC graph plotting Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara in Turkey

  2. Nato chief 'cautiously optimistic' for peace talks breakthrough

    Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan meets with Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte pose shaking hands in front of two Turkish red flagsPPO/Reuters

    Nato chief Mark Rutte says he is "cautiously optimistic" for a breakthrough in Ukraine-Russia peace talks.

    Rutte adds: "It is now up to the Russians to make sure they take the next steps."

    Yesterday, Nato's secretary general met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Following their meeting, he said "there is a real window of opportunity for progress towards peace".

    He also met Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.

  3. Analysis

    Putin likes to keep people guessing

    Orla Guerin
    Reporting from Istanbul

    Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives to make a statement to the media at the Kremlin in MoscowSPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

    President Vladimir Putin kept people guessing – as he likes to do - about whether or not he would attend the talks. But he seems set to stay away.

    The Ukrainian leader, by contrast, had said he was ready to fly from Ankara to Istanbul - at a moment’s notice - if President Putin turned up but added that he would only talk to him.

    “This is his war, “ Volodymyr Zelensky said. “So the negotiations should be with him”.

    Direct Russia-Ukraine talks – at any level – would be the first since the months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion three years ago.

    But, there’s no sign that either side is ready for major concessions.

    For now, the only winner is the Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who faced mass protests here recently, after the jailing of his main rival.

    He can now shift attention from domestic repression, to international diplomacy.

  4. Russia says Putin won't attend peace talks in Istanbul

    Matt Spivey
    Live editor

    Peace talks in the Ukraine-Russia war will take place in Istanbul, Turkey, today - but the Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin is not on the list of officials attending.

    US President Donald Trump will also not be attending, according to media reports - despite hinting yesterday he would, if Putin showed up.

    Zelensky will be in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Ukrainian president said he would attend the talks with Russia in Istanbul, but only if Putin was there.

    Putin and Zelensky have not met in person since December 2019.

    On Sunday, after Putin proposed direct talks, Trump posted on his Truth Social platform: "A potentially great day for Russia and Ukraine!"

    As we wait to see who attends the talks, we'll bring you the key developments and analysis from our teams in London, Turkey, and around the region.