Ukraine-Russia war live: Putin launches retaliatory strikes just hours before Istanbul peace talks

The German government was not informed ahead of time of a Ukrainian drone attack striking targets deep within Russia, a government spokesperson said.

“The German government was not informed about this, but that is not necessary because the Ukrainians have the right to defend themselves against a war that violates international law,” the spokesperson said.

Ukraine remains “ready to negotiate” in the latest round of peace talks with Russia taking place in Istanbul on Monday, the spokesperson added.

Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, met with representatives of the UK, Germany and Italy ahead of the meeting with Russia, Ukraine’s foreign ministry spokesperson said.

“The sides co-ordinated positions ahead of today’s meeting between Ukrainian and Russian delegations,” spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy said.

“Members of the Ukrainian delegation reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to peace efforts. They elaborated on the items of the agenda, which include leaders’ meeting, a full ceasefire, and humanitarian confidence-building measures.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will push for a “fair ceasefire” in Ukraine during his first in-person meeting with Donald Trump in Washington on Thursday, a German government spokesperson said.

“The government’s objectives are clear and the chancellor will do everything in his power to lobby the US president for a fair ceasefire, including with the threat of sanctions,” the spokesperson told reporters in Berlin on Monday.

Mr Merz is aware of a push for tougher sanctions against Russia by US Senator Lindsey Graham but would not interfere in domestic US procedures, the spokesperson added.

Sir Keir Starmer has said the UK is learning the lessons of Ukraine and will deliver an army 10 times more lethal than it is now by 2035.

The prime minister said he has spoken repeatedly to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky about ensuring all aspects of Britain’s military “work seamlessly together”.

“To ensure that drones, destroyers, AI, aircraft, and each different branch of our armed services are fully integrated,” he said.

The UK government will build up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines and invest £15 billion in its warhead programme, Sir Keir announced today as the government unveils its strategic defence review.

Ukrainian and Russian delegations arrived at Istanbul’s Ciragan Palace, along with senior Turkish officials, for their second round of direct peace talks in three years.

The delegations arrived in cars and entered the venue, the Russians mostly wearing suits and several of the Ukrainians wearing camouflaged military uniforms.

Ukraine’s attack against several Russian air bases on Sunday shows that Kyiv is successful in defending itself, Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has said.

“I think they (Ukraine) have the right to defend themselves and sometimes it includes pushing back so it seems that it has been successful,” Ms Frederiksen said when asked to comment on Ukraine’s attack.

Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service, the SBU, acknowledged it carried out the attack, codenamed “Operation Spider’s Web,” planned for more than a year and a half.

At a meeting of Nordic, Baltic and Eastern European leaders in the capital of Lithuania, Ms Frederiksen also said it was crucial to focus on rearming Europe.

“Russia is a threat to all of us and therefore we need to strengthen our Eastern flank… We have to push for a ceasefire still but at the same time we have to do what is needed at the battlefield in Ukraine so they can actually win this war,” she said.

The number of people who have been injured during one of two bridge collapses on Saturday has risen, according to Russian media reports.

Russian state-owned news agency Tass reported the number of those injured in the bridge collapse in the Bryansk Region has risen to 104.

In total, seven people were killed.

The first bridge, in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, collapsed on top of a passenger train on Saturday, causing casualties. The train’s driver was among those killed, state-run Russian Railways said.

Hours later, officials said a second train derailed when the bridge beneath it collapsed in the nearby Kursk region, which also borders Ukraine.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency, said explosions had caused the two bridges to collapse without giving more detail. Several hours later, it edited the statement to remove the words “explosions”, but did not explain why.

Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Lithuania with leaders from Nato’s eastern flank for a meeting ahead of the Hague Nato summit later in June.

This includes the Bucharest Nine – Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – and the Nordics – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte is also in attendance.

There will be a joint press conference later today. We will bring you the latest lines.