Russia and Ukraine have agreed a prisoner swap after peace talks in Istanbul, with Vladimir Putin’s negotiator saying Moscow suggested a short ceasefire in certain areas. Follow the latest here and submit a question for our Q&A with defence and security analyst Michael Clarke below.
Monday 2 June 2025 17:31, UK
Security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke will be answering your questions on the war in Ukraine this Wednesday.
You can submit a question via the form at the top of this page.
Clarke takes a look at them each week and offers his insights on the likes of peace negotiations, the latest from the battlefield, or Donald Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin.
Catch up on last week’s Q&A below…
During a news conference today, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Serhi Kyslytsya, said the Russian side “continue to reject the notion of an unconditional ceasefire”.
“The very unconditional ceasefire that the American president himself offered a while ago,” he said.
Meanwhile, defence minister Rustem Umerov, who led the Ukrainian delegation, told reporters that Kyiv officials would need a week to review the Russian memorandum and decide on a response.
“Only today, the Russian delegation handed over their documentation to our delegation,” he said.
Ukraine proposed further talks on a date between 20-30 June.
By Sophia Massam, junior digital investigations journalist
In this image below, Ukraine’s security service head is looking at satellite images of the Russian bases hit on Sunday.
The picture of Lieutenant General Vasyl Maliuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, was shared on X by the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU). The satellite images appear to have been framed.
In the post, Ukraine claims that “34% of strategic cruise missile carriers at the main airfields of the Russian Federation were hit”.
Sky News has matched the locations of four sites struck by Ukrainian drones in Sunday’s large-scale attack deep inside Russia.
One of the site’s is the Olenya airbase in the Murmansk region and the other is the Diaghilev airbase in the Ryazan region.
The Ivanovo Severnyy airbase in the Ivanovo region and the Belaya airbase in the Irkutsk region were also hit.
These four were confirmed to have been struck by an SBU press release.
The final airbase was not mentioned in the press release, and appears to be the Ukrainka airbase in the far east of Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned against Vladimir Putin decided whether Ukraine is able to join NATO.
In a post on X, the Ukrainian leader stressed that Putin “must get nothing that would justify his aggression”.
“Any reward would only show him that war pays off,” he said.
He confirmed that both the Ukraine and Russian delegation had exchanged documents through the Turkish side, and they were also preparing a new release of prisoners of war.
Touching on the possibility of Ukraine joining NATO, he said this cannot be dictated by Putin, adding: “Decisions for Europe, not for Putin.”
Here is what Zelenskyy has said this afternoon…
Russia has repeatedly said Ukraine must remain “neutral” and NATO membership is a red line for them.
But Zelenskyy has been pushing for Ukraine to join the defence alliance and even said he is willing to give up his presidency for it.
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will “keep going in a circle” until the United States gets more heavily involved, security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke says.
Moscow demonstrated it wasn’t serious by handing over their negotiating memo today, laying out their terms.
The Ukrainians handed theirs over a week ago.
“If they wanted to negotiate something, they would have given the Ukrainians a chance to study it and think about it,” he says.
It’s clear the Russians are going “very slowly” with their talks and have no desire for Vladimir Putin to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“What Putin wants is a direct meeting with Trump, not with Zelenskyy,” he says.
“Because of all of that, this process will keep on going in a circle until the US gets more completely involved.”
Or, he says, if the US walks away entirely.
We’ve been reporting on the second round of Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul today – and we’ve just had a flurry of developments from both sides as their negotiators spoke to the media.
Here’s what we know has come out of the talks:
List of ‘abducted’ children
Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said they had handed the Russian team a list of children they want returned during today’s talks.
Hundreds of children were forcibly removed from Ukrainian territory by Russian forces, and they want them returned as part of a peace deal.
More prisoner swaps
The delegations agreed to exchange severely wounded prisoners of war, prisoners aged 18 to 25, and bodies of fallen soldiers, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.
The number of people involved is not yet specified, though.
Russia suggests short ceasefire
Putin’s chief negotiator, Vladimir Medinsky, said Russia has suggested a ceasefire for two to three days in certain areas.
He also said Russian negotiators handed a detailed memorandum to their Ukrainian counterparts and it contained steps for a full ceasefire.
The Ukrainian side said Russia rejected a full ceasefire.
Ukraine to study Russia’s memorandum
Ukraine has said it will be ready to decide on a way forward once it has studied the Russian memorandum.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he hopes to host Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump.
He says Turkey will take steps toward a leaders’ meeting following the latest round of talks between delegations.
The president described the meeting in Istanbul as “great”.
Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said earlier that Volodymyr Zelenskyy would meet Vladimir Putin if the latter were to only accept his invitation.
“If Putin says he is ready to meet tomorrow, our president Zelenskyy is ready to meet him tomorrow.”
We are also hearing from Vladimir Medinsky, who is Vladimir Putin’s chief negotiator.
Speaking to reporters outside the meeting, Medinsky said Russian negotiators handed a memorandum to their Ukrainian counterparts outlining Moscow’s terms for a full ceasefire – days after Ukrainian officials gave the opposing side their terms.
He said the Kremlin’s memo contained steps for a full ceasefire and that Ukraine would now look at it.
Medinsky also said Moscow had suggested a ceasefire for two to three days in certain areas and that Russia will hand more than 6,000 bodies to Ukraine over the next week.
“The greatest outcome today is again on the humanitarian issues,” says Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, adding it is similar to the first round of talks last month.
The delegations agreed to exchange severely wounded prisoners of war, prisoners aged 18 to 25, and bodies of fallen soldiers, he says.
“There is no greater value than human life and if a meeting lets us bring back some people, any number, then we think it is a success. It is already worth it,” he says.
The number of people involved is not yet specified, he adds.
The Ukrainian officials are asked about the “atmosphere in the room” during peace talks.
Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi says: “Believe me, we are prepared.”
He says this is not their first day dealing with Russia, but they remain focused on issues, such as returning prisoners of war and children.
“We can talk for a long time about any, you know, big issues. But in the end, the peace process starts with the basics. And the basics are the ceasefire, humanitarian confidence-building measures and the meeting of the leaders, which can kick off a real, meaningful, substantial peace process.”
The official is then asked if recent strikes on Russian airbases were mentioned during peace talks.
“The war goes on,” he says. “I can only reiterate that Ukraine targets legitimate military targets in Russia.”
Ukrainian officials are now speaking after peace talks between the two sides ending.
Expectations had been low for any breakthrough on ending the three-year war after a string of attacks over the weekend.
The official says Ukraine could not react to Russian proposals in Istanbul because his side only received them today. Ukraine will be ready to decide on a way forward once it has studied the Russian memorandum.
But, he said, despite not knowing Russian demands ahead of time, the delegation was determined to still take part in talks.
“I want to reiterate that Ukraine remains constructive and committed to peace, and therefore we are here.”
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free