Timings have been revealed for expected peace talks in Turkey today between Russia and Ukraine – the first direct negotiations in years. On the battlefield, Ukraine has revealed the loss of an F-16 fighter jet. Follow the latest and listen to the Daily podcast below as you scroll.
Friday 16 May 2025 09:50, UK
Senior Ukrainian officials have just been holding a meeting in Istanbul with US envoy Keith Kellogg and senior aides to the French, British and German leaders.
Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak shared pictures of the meeting on social media.
The meeting was attended from the Ukrainian side by Yermak as well as the foreign minister Andriy Sybiha and defence minister Rustem Umerov.
Jonathan Powell, Keir Starmer’s national security adviser, was also there. Powell played a key role during negotiations to end the Troubles in Northern Ireland under Tony Blair’s government in 1998, which led to the Good Friday Agreement.
All sides will be hoping a similar game-changing deal can be reached…
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has said Russian President Vladimir Putin has to play ball as Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet for peace talks in Istanbul today.
Rutte also said it’s “very good” that Ukrainians have come to the table for negotiations.
Just to remind you, Russia and Ukraine are set to meet for peace talks today for the first time in three years.
The two countries have been at war since February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
While we wait for more details on the talks, here are some pictures of vehicles arriving at a gate before the scheduled meeting between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations at the Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul.
As reported in our earlier post, the first trilateral meeting of the day between Ukraine, Turkey and the US has already started, according to a Turkish foreign ministry source.
Away from peace talks for a moment, Volodymyr Zelenskyy last night revealed he held talks with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Ukrainian football legend Andriy Shevchenko.
It comes after Infantino accompanied Donald Trump on the first two days of his Middle East tour, appearing alongside the US president in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“Sport has always had a profound impact on societies and states across the globe,” Zelenskyy said. “And we highly value such a strong voice in support of Ukraine and the pursuit of a just and lasting peace.”
He later thanked FIFA for being an “organisation we can rely on”.
For context: FIFA banned Russia from international competition alongside UEFA after it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Speaking this month, Trump suggested that the opportunity for Russia to play in the 2026 World Cup (hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico) could be an “incentive” to end the war in Ukraine.
A meeting between the US, Ukraine and Turkey has started in Istanbul, a Turkish foreign ministry source has said.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Istanbul for today’s peace talks aimed at putting an end to the three-year war in Ukraine.
Rubio yesterday cast doubts on whether the direct Ukraine-Russia talks would amount to anything, saying there would be no “breakthrough” until Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met face-to-face.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the US yesterday for sending Rubio – while comparing it to the “decorative” and low-level Russian delegation, after Putin opted not to attend.
The US will be represented during talks with the Russian delegation in Istanbul today by director for policy planning Michael Anton, a US State Department spokesperson has said.
A few pictures have emerged of the press gathering outside the Turkish presidency’s Dolmabahce working office, where Russia and Ukraine’s direct talks might happen later in Istanbul.
Journalists can be seen taking their places behind a barrier.
As mentioned earlier, while scheduled talks between Ukraine and Russia failed to materialise yesterday, they are now set to take place this morning.
Russia and Ukraine are set to meet for their first direct talks in more than three years today.
The first meeting of the day will see Turkey, the US and Ukraine meet, according to the Turkish foreign ministry service.
Russia and Ukraine will then hold their direct talks later, with Turkish representatives in attendance.
The first meeting is scheduled for 8.45am UK time and the second for 10.30am UK time.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations were expected to meet yesterday but Russia’s representation ended up meeting with Turkey’s foreign minister in Istanbul last night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, was in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The talks in Istanbul were arranged after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for direct talks between the warring parties last Sunday.
Zelenskyy called on the Kremlin leader to meet him in person, but Putin chose not to attend, instead sending what the Ukrainian leader branded as a “decorative” and low-level Russian delegation.
Ukraine has lost an F-16 fighter jet after an “unusual situation” on board but the pilot was able to safely eject, the Ukrainian air force has said in a statement.
“According to preliminary data… an unusual situation arose on board. The pilot moved the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected,” it said on Telegram.
The pilot was feeling fine, the force added.
A commission has been appointed to investigate all the circumstances of what happened.
The air force said the loss did not appear to be a result of Russian fire.
It’s the second crash involving an F-16 since Ukrainian forces started receiving them from US allies last year.
In late August, an F-16 crashed and its pilot died while repelling a major Russian air strike.
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