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The delegations of Russia and Ukraine have concluded the third round of talks in Istanbul. "It’s over," he said, News.Az reports citing TASS. The talks between the two countries’ delegations kicked off at 8:37 p.m. local time (5:37 p.m. GMT) and lasted for about 40 minutes.

The latest round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine has started at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, RT reported on Wednesday. According to the report, heads of the two countries' delegations are currently holding bilateral talks at the venue. The Russian delegation is headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, while National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov is leading the Ukrainian delegation.

A Ukrainian delegation, which arrived in Türkiye for talks with Russia, is holding a meeting with the President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The meeting in Ankara has already commenced, Caliber.Az reports, citing Ukrainska Pravda. No further details have been provided. To recall, Ukrainian and Russian officials are set to meet in Istanbul on July 23, for the third round of peace talks, their first meeting in over seven weeks amid ongoing U.S. efforts to secure a cease-fire. The talks will be held at the Çırağan Palace. Ukraine's delegation will be led by former Defence Minister and...

The goal of the upcoming Istanbul talks between Russia and Ukraine is to work through the draft memoranda exchanged during earlier stages, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, after confirming Moscow's delegation, again led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, had departed for Istanbul. The talks will "mainly focus on the draft memoranda exchanged during the second round," Peskov noted, calling them central to the peace proposal process. He added that reconciling these texts is essential groundwork before any high-level summit can be scheduled so that the leaders would not have to do the technically complex work themselves. Peskov also...

The Russian-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine's east are teetering on the brink of a severe humanitarian crisis, with certain locales having been parched for four months straight. The dire water scarcity is attributed to rampant corruption and gross mismanagement by the Kremlin-backed leadership. Donetsk and Makiivka are bearing the brunt of the crisis, inciting residents' fears of potential disease outbreaks. In response, local officials have rolled out emergency water rationing for the nearly 1.3 million inhabitants of both cities. Andrey Chertkov, the interim head honcho of the self-proclaimed DPR government, cautioned citizens about the new tri-weekly water...

Podnosova once said that women weren’t into Putin during their uni years. RUSSIA'S top judge and Putin’s former university pal has died today - just 15 months after taking the helm of the country's supreme court. -snip- Podnosova had revealed in 2001 how a gawky Putin was not fancied by girls at discos at Leningrad State University where they both studied in the law faculty in the Soviet era. “I well remember the last New Year [at university] - everyone dressed in masquerade costumes, and Volodya [Vladimir] came in a modest suit. "He commented: ‘This is Stierlitz’s outfit," in reference...

The draft memorandums on resolving the conflict that Moscow and Kyiv exchanged earlier would be the focus of the third round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday. "The subject of talks is rather complicated; apart from other issues, the draft memorandums that the parties exchanged in the second round will also need to be discussed," he pointed out, News.Az reports, citing TASS.

The next round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine could take place between July 24 and 25, Tass reported on Monday. The Russian state news agency previously reported that the two delegations were planning to meet for a third round of peace talks in Turkey later this week. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during the weekend that his country proposed continuing talks next week, emphasizing the need to "increase the pace of negotiations." The two countries had their last direct meeting in Istanbul at the beginning of June, which the Turkish Foreign Ministry claimed "did not end negatively," but failed...

Vladimir Putin has pulled back the curtain on what has been described as the ‘largest and most secret’ drone factory ahead of a joint naval drill with Iran. Footage – a blend of Cold War secrecy and TikTok-era propaganda – offers a rare glimpse of the Yelabuga production facility in the Russian republic of Tatarstan. Recorded by Zvezda, the Russian defence ministry’s TV channel, it shows the star of Putin’s war in Ukraine – the ‘Geran-2’ drones. This is the Kremlin’s locally branded version of Iranian-designed Shahed 136. -snip- Above the entrance to the factory, a giant screen read, ‘Kurchatov,...

-snip- Russia has one of the world’s highest divorce rates — 60% higher than the United States’. Its abortion rate is more than twice that of Ukraine’s. Barely 1% of the population attended Christmas services last year. And at the center of it all sits the Russian Orthodox Church, less a religious institution than a state-security affiliate. When Tucker Carlson mourned the fate of Ukraine’s Moscow Patriarchate, he left out two crucial details. First, it is Russia — not Ukraine — that has damaged or destroyed more than 600 houses of worship since 2014. And second, Ukraine isn’t banning religion;...

Vladimir Putin has been left humiliated after Ukrainian drones penetrated Russian air defences for the fourth successive day. Moscow and the surrounding regions were under siege as Ukrainian forces unleashed more than 100 aircraft, targeting multiple buildings in the early hours of this morning. Footage circulating on Russian pro-war Telegram channels shows several explosions leaving homes shaking and windows shattered. Chaos also engulfed four of the capital’s airports – Sheremetyevo, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovskiy – with as many as 134 flights having to be redirected. By 10am local time, only two remained closed to air traffic – Vnukovo in the...

UKRAINE unleashed chaos at Moscow’s four airports with a fourth successive drone blitz rocking the city. Hundreds of passenger planes had to be diverted as waves of flying bombs converged on the Russian capital. Footage showed explosions as Russian air defences attacked incoming unmanned planes in Zelenograd, a district 23 miles northwest of the Kremlin. Ukraine has stepped up assaults since Donald Trump reportedly told Ukrainian president Volodymr Zelensky it was time to make Russians feel “the pain” of war. Russia's defence ministry claimed to have downed 93 Ukrainian drones overnight across nine regions - 19 of them over the...

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that Kyiv has sent Moscow an offer to hold another round of peace talks next week, and that he wanted to speed up negotiations for a cease-fire. Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul over the past five months. They have agreed to swap prisoners but made no breakthroughs in ending almost three and a half years of conflict that started with Russia’s 2022 invasion. “Everything should be done to achieve a cease-fire,” Zelensky said in his evening address to the nation. “The Russian side should stop hiding from...

Russian officials said Thursday they are prepared to send a delegation to Istanbul for a third round of peace negotiations with Ukraine, while awaiting completion of ongoing prisoner exchange processes and new proposals from Kyiv. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that Moscow's negotiating team stands ready to travel to Istanbul, expressing hope that Ukraine will adhere to existing agreements and continue the negotiation process. "The Russian delegation is ready to go to Istanbul for the third round of negotiations," Zakharova said during her weekly news briefing in Moscow. "We hope that Kyiv will act in accordance with the...

Grocery stores in Belarus could be fined if they don’t keep enough potatoes in stock, as the country grapples with shortages, high prices and poor-quality spuds. The new regulation imposes penalties of up to €2,200 (8,400 Belarusian rubles) for failure to supply the staple, widely regarded as Belarus’ national vegetable. The decree, signed into law on Saturday by President Alexander Lukashenko and officially published on Wednesday, puts the onus on both shops and wholesale suppliers to ensure that common ingredients are delivered to stores, especially in the off-season. Belarus has been hit by an apparent potato crisis this year, with...

Russia's Defence Ministry has quietly cancelled its flagship military exhibition, in a major blow for Vladimir Putin. Several sources have confirmed to Russian media that the prestigious International Military-Technical Forum "Army 2025" will no longer go ahead as planned. The event is Russia's largest annual defence exhibition and has been held without fail every year since its inception in 2015 - even during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Russian Army used the forum as an opportunity to showcase its latest weapons and technologies and help the Kremlin sell its military hardware. The event had been scheduled to take place at Patriot...

Ukraine will let foreign arms companies test out their latest weapons on the front line of its war against Russia's invasion, Kyiv's state-backed arms investment and procurement group Brave1 said on Thursday. -snip- "We have a list of priorities. One of the top of those would be air defense, like new air defense capabilities, drone interceptors, AI-guided systems, all the solutions against gliding bombs," he said. Unmanned systems in the water and electronic profile systems on the ground are also on Ukraine's list of priorities, as are advanced fire control systems or AI guidance to make howitzers more accurate. Under...

Russia has lashed out at the US, accusing the Trump administration of “blackmail” as it continues to threaten Moscow with a sanctions ultimatum. Washington has told the Kremlin that if it does not agree to a Ukraine peace deal within 50 days, then it will impose 100% secondary tariffs on Moscow’s trade partners that buy Russian oil, gas and other products. -snip- It comes as Russia continues to suffer heavy casualties on the frontline in Ukraine. The UK Defence Secretary said it is likely Russia seized 550 square kilometres of Ukrainian territory — “an area greater than the size of...

Russia’s banks are reportedly seeking to arrange bailouts from Moscow as borrowers struggle to repay loans across the war-battered economy. At least three of the country’s biggest banks are investigating the possibility of a state rescue, according to Bloomberg News, in the latest sign the nation is struggling under the pressure of its invasion of Ukraine. Officials are said to have ordered banks to avoid disclosing the full level of bad loans and instead to restructure their books to present a healthier image. But this tactic may be nearing the end of the road, requiring support from Moscow. Russia’s economy...

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated on Thursday that Russia must reach either a ceasefire or a peace deal with Ukraine within the next 50 days if it wants to avoid facing "steep" tariffs and secondary sanctions, which would target countries buying oil from it. Leavitt acknowledged that the trade between the United States and Russia amounted to only $3 billion last year but noted that it is "still a lot of money," and tariffs on such trade could motivate Russia to accept a ceasefire. The White House press secretary noted Trump has put "many hours" into resolving the...