Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Trump needs to realise Putin ‘lies’ to him ahead of Turkey talks

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has expressed hope that Russia will agree to a 30-day ceasefire proposed by the US and Ukraine, in a phone call with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Ms Meloni and Mr Erdogan spoke on Tuesday and discussed the diplomatic prospects of Volodymyr Zelensky’s scheduled visit to Turkey – which he has called for Russian president Vladimir Putin to join.

She told the Turkish president that Russia is expected to respond positively to an invitation for high-level negotiations and will agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

The EU is set to apply high tariffs on imports from Ukraine within weeks, hitting the Kyiv economy at a crucial time in its fight against Russian aggression, according to a report in the Financial Times.

The proposal, recently sent to EU member states, would drastically cut the tariff free quotas of agricultural products a lifeline for Ukraine’s farmers and budget, FT said.

Ukraine has destroyed one of Russia’s key defence anti-aircraft missile system and a rocket launcher, its military officials said yesterday.

A drone attack by Ukrainian Special Operations Forces destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system and a Uragan-1 multiple launch rocket system (MLSR), its unit said in a statement.

The attack that took place yesterday was part of a reconnaissance strike in an unspecified frontline sector where they detected the Buk-M3 and the Uragan-1 on combat duty, the unit said.

The Ukrainian forces fired attack drones and hit the targets which destroyed the Buk-M3 system and its ammunition. Ukrainian military officials did not specify the time of the attack.

The Kremlin has declined to comment on whether Vladimir Putin will travel to Turkey to attend peace talks with Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.

Mr Putin proposed on Sunday that direct talks with Ukraine should take place, and – after US president Donald Trump publicly told Mr Zelensky to accept, the Ukrainian president said that he would go but that Mr Putin should attend in person too.

“The Russian side continues to prepare for the negotiations,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the talks and Mr Zelensky’s demand that Mr Putin attend.

“We are not going to comment any more yet.”

When asked directly who would represent Russia at the talks, Mr Peskov said: “As soon as the president sees fit, we will announce it.”

All eyes are finally turning to Istanbul this week as world leaders seek to end Russia’s three-year-old full-scale invasion of Ukraine where a rare meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin is required to take place.

Who is coming to Istanbul tomorrow?

Mr Zelenskyy said yesterday that he will meet with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the capital Ankara, and wait there. If the Russian leader Mr Putin chooses Istanbul for the meeting, Mr Zelensky said, then he and Mr Erdogan will travel there.

Mr Zelensky added that he will travel to Turkey even if Mr Putin does not come for talks and will fly at a moment’s notice if the Russian president shows up.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Mr Zelensky will only sit down with the Russian president and no one else for talks aimed at ending Ukraine war.

If Mr Putin doesn’t show up, European and US leaders should follow through with additional sanctions against Russia, he added.

The Kremlin has refused to confirm who’s going to Turkey and whether it will include Mr Putin.

Pressed by reporters on who will represent Russia in Istanbul, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov refused to say, stressing that Mr Putin had outlined Russia’s position clearly enough.

Mr Trump has said he is optimistic about the talks and that there is “the potential for a good meeting” between Mr Putin and Mr Zelensky.

He added he was “thinking about flying over” after his visit to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates but later said secretary of state Marco Rubio and others from the US will go to Turkey for the talks.

Russian deputy foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has claimed that Russia is ready for serious talks on Ukraine – but that Moscow doubts Kyiv is ready for negotiation.

“It is premature to make predictions,” Mr Ryabkov was quoted by Russian state news agencies as saying. “The question should be addressed to the sponsors of the Kyiv regime and Kyiv itself: are they ready to negotiate?”

“We have a firm impression that with the current approach, the word that can characterise the line of these figures is non-agreement,” state news agency Tass quoted him as saying.

Mr Ryabkov said the realities “on the ground” in the context of the conflict in Ukraine should be recognised, including the incorporation of what Moscow calls “new territories” into Russia, RIA reported.

Vladimir Putin is “prevaricating” and “obfuscating” on peace talks with Ukraine, the UK’s foreign secretary David Lammy has said.

Speaking in the Commons, Tory MP and former foreign secretary James Cleverly asked Mr Lammy what steps the UK was taking to ensure that Donald Trump remains “committed to defending territorial integrity”, and to ensure the White House understands that allowing Mr Putin to “prosper” in Ukraine will embolden future invasions.

Mr Lammy replied: “[Mr Cleverly] will have seen that the prime minister was with President Zelensky and other European partners, he will have noted that they engaged with President Trump.

“We welcome the desire to get an enduring peace but there must be a ceasefire in order to engage in those talks, it seems to me.

“And it is Putin that is prevaricating, it is Putin that is obfuscating, and we must call that out with our long experience of scrutinising that particular individual.”

At least 16 people were injured in a series of Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian region of Belgorod, officials said this morning.

Among the injured were a doctor and a paramedic, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Another eight people were hospitalised, he added.

The Russian defence ministry said that its units destroyed 12 drones that Ukraine launched overnight, three of them over the Belgorod region.

Russia only reports on the number of drones destroyed and not how many Ukraine launches.

Ukraine has repeated its insistence that a ceasefire should come before peace talks can begin in earnest, as Volodymyr Zelensky challenges Vladimir Putin to meet him face-to-face in Turkey tomorrow.

“Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations with Russia, but a ceasefire must come first,” Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said yesterday.

Negotiations are impossible while “the Ukrainian people are under attack by Russian missiles and drones around the clock”, Mr Yermak said in a video address to the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2025.

French president Emmanuel Macron said he is in favour of imposing new sanctions on Russia in the coming days if Moscow fails to agree to a ceasefire, mentioning financial services and oil and gas as possible targets.

He reiterated the position held by Britain, Germany and Poland who said on Saturday that Russia would be hit by new punitive measures if it did not heed calls for a 30-day ceasefire within days.

The ceasefire was set to come into effect from Monday this week.

“Our intention is to impose new sanctions against Russia in the coming days” if Moscow refuses to implement a ceasefire, Mr Macron said in a prime-time interview on TF1.

“We are coordinating in this regard.”

Mr Macron’s comments echoed those by German chancellor Friedrich Merz earlier yesterday, who said European allies would roll out “a significant tightening of sanctions” on Russia if president Vladimir Putin does not agree to a ceasefire.

Mr Merz also cited sectors including energy and financial markets as possible targets.

On Monday, French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the European Commission had been asked to propose new sanctions in those areas.