By Tom Balmforth, Vladimir Soldatkin and Huseyin Hayatsever ISTANBUL/ANKARA (Reuters) -Russia's Vladimir Putin spurned a challenge to meet face-to-face with Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Turkey on Thursday,

As Ukrainian and Russian delegations are expected to meet in Istanbul for potential ceasefire negotiations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended the country's current defense strategy through 2027,

Russia's delegation arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday, and a Ukrainian official said a delegation including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was on its way the the Turkish capital Ankara.

Zelensky to send team to Istanbul talks but dares Putin to ‘demonstrate leadership’ - Moscow has sent a ‘low level’ delegation to meet Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul, while Trump says a peace d

Moscow’s massacres of Ukrainian civilians blew apart any semblance of good faith as Washington pushed for talks

Ukraine had framed Zelensky's demand for a face-to-face meeting with Putin as a test of Russia's true willingness to negotiate peace. Arriving in Turkey, he slammed the Russian delegation as "theatrical" and contrasted it to Ukraine's high-level group.

Malaysian PM raises downing of MH17 with Putin as captain’s son calls for justice - Vladimir Putin dismisses claims Russia was reluctant to cooperate in the investigation with ‘impartial’ bodies

Drone attacks in the first months of 2025 forced Russia to suspend airport operations over 200 times, a record number since the start of the full-scale war, the independent Russian outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe reported on May 14,