President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will first meet with Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Türkiye. Only after that will decisions be made regarding the next steps in negotiations with Russia,

President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would skip Russia-Ukraine peace talks in Istanbul and downplayed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision not to attend. The president had pressed for Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul.

Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv he will be in Ankara on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He plans to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two will wait for Putin to arrive, he said. Zelenskyy said if Putin chooses Istanbul to hold the meeting, then both leaders will travel there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin's offer to meet in-person in Turkey on Thursday.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he will urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend peace talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that he will be waiting for Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Turkish capital this week to conduct face-to-face talks about the more than 3-year war

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Pope Leo XIV, asking the new pope for help in bringing home children deported from Ukraine to Russia. The Ukrainian president also said he invited the new pope to visit Ukraine and the two men "agreed to stay in contact and plan (an) in-person meeting in the near future.

Ukrainian soldiers continue to conduct combat operations on Russian territory. They are active in the Belgorod and Kursk regions, according to the evening address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.