Russia and Ukraine have agreed to a new prisoner exchange during their peace talks in Istanbul, Turkey, on Monday.
Both sides have agreed to exchange severely wounded prisoners of war, prisoners aged 18 to 25, and the bodies of fallen soldiers. The numbers are not yet clear.
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov said he had also provided Russian negotiators a list of Ukrainian children that had been abducted to Russian territory during the war, that they wanted returned.
“This matter is a fundamental priority for us: If Russia is genuinely committed to a peace process, the return of at least half the children on this list is positive,” Umerov said.
While Russia agreed to a prisoner exchanger, it rejected proposals for an unconditional ceasefire said Kyiv negotiator, Sergiy Kyslytsya.
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02:04 PM EDT
Trump ‘open’ to meeting Putin and Zelenskyy in Turkey: White House
The White House said that President Donald Trump is “open” to attending Ukraine-Russia peace talks hosted by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Erdogen has invited Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Trump to peace talks in Turkey, following today’s negotiations in Istanbul.
“The president has said he’s open to it if it comes to that,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response to the invitation, “but he wants both of these leaders and both sides to come to the table together.”
12:39 PM EDT
Erdogan offers to host Putin, Zelensky, Trump in Turkey for peace talks
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated the progress made at toady’s Ukraine-Russia peace talks, and has offered to host a meeting between Russia’s Putin, Ukraine’s Zelensky and President Trump for the next negotiations.
“My greatest wish is to bring together Putin and Zelenskyy in Istanbul or Ankara and even add Trump along,” he told the press on Monday.
“If they accept, I also would like to join them in this meeting,” the Turkish president added.
12:03 PM EDT
Operation Spiderweb: How Ukraine’s daring top secret drone assault unfolded
FILE- In this file photo made from the footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official web site on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017 Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers strike the Islamic State targets in Syria. The Russian…
FILE- In this file photo made from the footage taken from Russian Defense Ministry official web site on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017 Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bombers strike the Islamic State targets in Syria. The Russian military said its warplanes recently have operated at an “unprecedented” pace to support joint action by Kurdish-led forces and Russian special forces in eastern Syria, flying over 100 missions a day against the Islamic State group. (AP Photo/ Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, File)
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As few as five people knew about Ukraine’s audacious plans to attack thousands of miles into Russian territory as they were first formulated, suggested Ivan Stupak, a former officer in Ukraine’s SBU security service.
More than a year and a half later, Kyiv succeeded in carrying out what could be its most dramatic, highly coordinated drone assaults on Russia of the war.
Ukraine on Sunday hit 41 of Russia’s expensive, hard-to-replace warplanes in a meticulously timed operation across three different time zones, thousands of miles away from Ukrainian soil, officials said. Andriy Kovalenko, an official with Kyiv’s national security and defense council, said on Monday that 13 Russian aircraft had been “destroyed.”
The drones were smuggled across the border, placed in wooden containers with removable roofs fixed on trucks.
11:51 AM EDT
Russia offered limited, 2-3 day ceasefire, says negotiator
Russia offered a limited, two to three day ceasefire in certain areas of the frontline, Moscow’s top negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said.
His comments come after Ukraine’s negotiator said that Moscow had rejected its proposals for a full ceasefire.
“We have proposed a specific ceasefire for two to three days in certain areas of the front line,” Medinsky said.
He added that Russia wanted the short truce to allow commanders to “collect the bodies of their soldiers.”
11:44 AM EDT
Russia only provided memo of demands during talks, says Ukraine official
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov, and deputy foreign minister Sergiy Kyslytsya, told reporters on Monday that Russian negotiators had only provided a memo outlining their demands during the peace talks, rather than ahead of the meeting as they had requested.
“We could not react to the Russian proposals as they were literally only advanced during the meeting. Nevertheless we manage to construct our conversation in a way that we can have a tangible humanitarian outcome,” Kyslytsya said.
“The Russian side continues to reject the notion of an unconditional ceasefire, the same one the president of the United States offered a while ago.”
11:42 AM EDT
Kyiv agrees to return bodies of 6,000 fallen soldiers, demands return of Ukrainian children
Ukraine’s lead negotiator Rustem Umerov told reporters after the peace talks in Istanbul that Ukraine has agreed to return 6,000 bodies of fallen soldiers.
Umerov said that Ukraine had also provided Russian negotiators a list of Ukrainian children that had been abducted to Russian territory during the war, that they wanted returned.
“This matter is a fundamental priority for us: If Russia is genuinely committed to a peace process, the return of at least half the children on this list is positive,” Umerov said.
He said they want a release of “all prisoners and all abducted children” in an “all for all” exchange, rather than focusing on numbers.
Ukraine was also “insisting on a full and unconditional end to the killing now: An unconditional ceasefire, meaning air, sea and land for at least 30 days. This demand has been unchanged for three months and we consider it the basis of a peaceful resolution,” he added.
11:08 AM EDT
Russia rejected unconditional ceasefire, says Ukraine negotiator
Russia rejected proposals for an unconditional ceasefire during today’s peace talks in Istanbul, according to Kyiv negotiator, Sergiy Kyslytsya.
“The Russian side continued to reject the motion of an unconditional ceasefire,” Kyslytsya told reporters on Monday.
Moscow has frequently rejected extended ceasefire proposals, arguing they would give Ukraine time to rearm, as Russia is advancing.
11:04 AM EDT
Ukraine proposes third round of peace talks within weeks
Ukraine has proposed a third round of peace talks with Russia before the end of June.
“We propose to the Russian side to hold a meeting by the end of this month, from 20th to 30th of June,” Ukrainian defense minister Rustem Umerov said after today’s talks in Istanbul.
Umerov said that the delegations should push for a meeting between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin.
10:49 AM EDT
How Putin might respond to ‘Russia’s Pearl Harbor’
Ukrainian drone strikes against air bases deep inside Russia are grounds for a nuclear response, a Kremlin-backed newspaper has reported amid anticipation over what Moscow will do after what has been described as the country’s “Pearl Harbor.”
The comments by Russian political analyst Sergei Markov to Moskovsky Komsomolets followed the revelation from Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) that its drone operation had struck four air bases and 41 strategic bombers, inflicting $7 billion worth of damage.
While his remarks do not reflect the Kremlin’s position, eyes will be on Moscow’s response as Russian and Ukrainian delegations meet in Istanbul on Monday to discuss how to end the war started by Vladimir Putin.
“We can expect a great deal of sound and fury from Moscow,” Keir Giles, from the London-based think tank Chatham House, told Newsweek on Monday. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment.
10:35 AM EDT
Zelensky says if Putin is allowed to dictate who can join NATO, his ‘appetite for war will only grow’
Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that if Vladimir Putin is allowed to dictate who can join NATO, his “appetite for war will only grow.”
Putin has repeatedly objected to Ukraine’s inclusion in NATO, warning he would not agree to a peace deal if the country was allowed to join.
Zelensky told the B9 summit on Monday that NATO needed to send a message to that “Russia will not get anything from this war”.
“We all need to work together to make this doable,” he says.
10:29 AM EDT
Ukraine hands Russia list of children it wants returned during talks
The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said that Ukrainian delegates had given their Russian counterparts a list of children they want back.
10:03 AM EDT
Threat from Russia is ‘real and serious,’ warns Danish prime minister
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has warned that the threat from Russia is “real and serious,” as Europe agrees there is a need for a stronger NATO and increased defense spending.
“Putin is talking about peace during the day and then he’s bombing at night,” Frederiksen said, adding there is also a more aggressive Russian approach in the Baltic Sea region.
She added that the only way forward for Europe was heavy investment in collective security
09:49 AM EDT
Putin will ‘keep playing games’ without sanctions, Zelensky warns
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is speaking at the summit of the Bucharest Nine (B9) and Nordic countries in Vilnius, Lithuania.
“We all want the same thing. To stop the Russian war and bring real peace,” Zelensky said at the summit Monday.
He warned that, for that to happen, there had to be a “a new level of pressure” put on Russia.
“New sanctions – and not just from Europe,” he said, if the talks fail. Zelensky said he hoped that the U.S. and all G7 nations would join in the sanctions to “seriously limit trade” with Russia, to ensure Putin took them seriously.
“Putin will just keep playing games,” if not, he added.
09:21 AM EDT
Turkish foreign minister says US involvement in peace talks is crucial
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that U.S. support for the Russia-Ukraine peace talks is “extremely important”.
He added that President Donald Trump’s “determination to establish peace has opened a new window of opportunity.”
“The main thing is to ensure a sustainable peace,” he added.
09:14 AM EDT
Peace talks in Istanbul conclude
Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul have concluded.
09:12 AM EDT
Zelensky says Ukraine ‘holding the line’ to stop war spreading into Europe
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine is “holding the line” to stop the war spreading into Europe.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, Zelensky spoke about Ukraine’s drone attack on Russian nuclear bomber jets, deep inside Russia.
“Europe, together with America, has better weapons than Russia. We also have stronger tactical solutions – our operation “Spiderweb” yesterday proved that. Russia must feel what losses mean. That will push it toward diplomacy,” he said.
“When Russia takes losses in this war, it’s obvious to everyone that Ukraine is the one holding the line – not just for itself, but for all of Europe.”
Europe, together with America, has better weapons than Russia. We also have stronger tactical solutions – our operation “Spiderweb” yesterday proved that. Russia must feel what its losses mean. That is what will push it toward diplomacy.
And when Russia takes losses in this… pic.twitter.com/7vel0PRFrn
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 2, 2025
08:57 AM EDT
Eastern European NATO nations committed to Ukraine’s membership
Nordic, Baltic, and central European NATO remain committed to Ukraine joining the military alliance, the country’s leaders said after a B9 summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“We stand firm on Allied decision and commitment regarding Ukraine’s irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” the leaders of Poland, Romania and Lithuania said in a statement.
“Ukraine has the right to choose its own security arrangements and to decide its own future, free from outside interference.”
08:50 AM EDT
Turkish official tells peace talks the aim of meeting is to reach ‘sustainable peace’
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan opened the peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, by telling both sides he wanted the negotiations to be “fruitful,” with the aim of achieving “sustainable peace.”
Fidan told the meeting, being held in Istanbul, that today both sides will discuss what they need for a ceasefire, and their positions in negotiations.
08:49 AM EDT
IN PICTURES: Satellite images show Russian air bases targeted in Ukraine attacks
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus on September 20, 2023, and provided by Google Earth shows Russia’s Ukrainka air base, one of five Russian bomber bases targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack on June 1, 2025.
Airbus/Google Earth
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus on August 7, 2023, and provided by Google Earth shows Russia’s Ivanovo Severny air base, one of five Russian bomber bases targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack on June 1, 2025.
Airbus/Google Earth
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus on June 1, 2023, and provided by Google Earth shows Russia’s Dyagilevo air base, one of five Russian bomber bases targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack on June 1, 2025.
Airbus/Google Earth
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus on August 15, 2024, and provided by Google Earth shows Russia’s Olenya air base, one of five Russian bomber bases targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack on June 1, 2025.
Satellite imagery captured by Airbus on August 15, 2024, and provided by Google Earth shows Russia’s Olenya air base, one of five Russian bomber bases targeted in a Ukrainian drone attack on June 1, 2025.
Airbus/Google Earth
08:44 AM EDT
Map shows Russian air bases hit in ‘Pearl Harbor’ drone raid
Coordinated, long-range strikes on multiple Russian airbases thousands of miles from Ukraine took out more than a third of Russia’s strategic cruise missile carriers, according to Kyiv, dealing a stinging blow to Moscow ahead of renewed peace talks.
Ukraine on Sunday launched 117 individually-operated drones at four airbases across Russia, officials said, in an attack branded “Russia’s Pearl Harbor” by observers, referencing Japan’s infamous 1941 assault on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Oahu, Hawaii.
The operation, codenamed “Spiderweb,” inflicted roughly $7 billion in damage as Kyiv struck more than 40 Russian aircraft simultaneously, including nuclear-capable bombers, Ukraine’s SBU domestic security agency said.
The head of Ukraine’s SBU security service, Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, said on Monday that Kyiv hit 41 aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 strategic bombers Russia has used extensively to fire long-range missiles at Ukraine.
08:38 AM EDT
What is Operation Spiderweb?
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a press conference at the Prague Castle, Czech Republic, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives for a press conference at the Prague Castle, Czech Republic, May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Petr David Josek/AP
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said the “perfectly executed” operation, dubbed Spiderweb, had taken a year and a half to mastermind.
Each of the 117 drones used had its own operator, the president said, and those involved worked across three different time zones.
The SBU smuggled the drones into Russia, the agency said, before smuggling them into wooden containers with removable roofs mounted on trucks.
“At the right moment, the roofs of the houses were remotely opened, and the drones flew to hit the designated targets – Russian bombers,” the SBU said.
A second round of peace talks between Ukraine and Russia kicked off in Turkey on Monday, although there is little optimism renewed discussions will quickly yield progress on a deal.
Russia has in recent weeks intensified its aerial attacks on Ukraine, launching huge waves of drone and missile strikes across the country that drew sharp criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump, who has typically refrained from overtly condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine, in the wake of its successful drone attacks, is anticipating a strong Russian response, Ivan Stupak, a former officer with the SBU, told Newsweek.
08:27 AM EDT
How many bombers does Russia have left?
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, a nuclear-capable Tu-95MS strategic bomber taxis to take off for a planned flight in the airspace over…
In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, a nuclear-capable Tu-95MS strategic bomber taxis to take off for a planned flight in the airspace over the neutral waters of the Barents Sea. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
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While the war in Ukraine has wreaked havoc on Russia’s land forces, much of Moscow’s military might, including the vast majority of its air force, has been largely untouched.
General Christopher Cavoli, the top U.S. commander in Europe, said in April last year Russia had lost just 10 percent of its air force since early 2022.
The exact number of bombers remaining is hard to make out, Mertens said, adding if Moscow still has enough in operation, it would be more limited by missile stockpiles than available aircraft.
The Kremlin likely has less than 90 Tu-22, Tu-95 and Tu-160 aircraft in total at its disposal, The Economist reported on Sunday.
Sunday’s attacks “may at least temporarily constrain Russia’s ability to conduct long-range drone and missile strikes into Ukraine,” the U.S.-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) evaluated on Sunday.
NATO officials have increasingly sounded the alarm over the possibility of Russia launching some form of attack on the alliance, often suggesting the likelihood of Moscow mounting an operation increases if a ceasefire is secured in Ukraine.
Ukrainian and Russian officials began a second round of tense talks in Turkey early on Monday, although optimism is low for concrete progress toward a deal.
Russia has in recent weeks hammered Ukraine with massive drone and missile strikes, provoking ire from President Donald Trump, eager to end Europe’s largest land conflict since World War II.
Ukraine’s drone strikes on Sunday have had a “tremendous impact,” likely to make Trump “think seriously” about Kyiv’s negotiating position, said Oleksandr Merezhko, the chair of Ukraine’s parliamentary foreign affairs committee.
“In one stroke, we managed to do something that was absolutely unbelievable,” Merezhko told Newsweek.
The operation was a boon to morale while proving Kyiv is “not a burden for NATO,” Merezhko added. Ukraine is a “shield for NATO,” he said.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said they are fighting not just for Ukraine, but to stop Russia’s advance further west into alliance territory.
08:22 AM EDT
Russia’s Pearl Harbor: Putin dealt ‘serious loss’ in stand off with NATO
Ukraine’s large-scale, coordinated drone strikes on Russia’s high-value aircraft on Sunday packed a punch against part of Moscow’s military that had been relatively unscathed by the war in Ukraine.
But they have likely also benefited a NATO scrambling to prepare for a possible war with Russia, an adversary with significant airpower at its disposal.
“Russia has suffered a serious loss in striking power, not just vis-à-vis Ukraine, but also towards NATO as a whole,” said Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst at Dutch research organization, TNO.
Ukraine on Sunday launched simultaneous drone strikes on several major Russian airbases, including in Siberia, just shy of 3,000 miles from Ukraine border, in a meticulously-planned attack that left analysts stunned.
Kyiv said it had brought down roughly $7 billion in damage on Moscow’s head, taking out more than a third of its strategic cruise missile carriers. The strikes were quickly dubbed Russia’s Pearl Harbor, a reference to the (by contrast, unprovoked) Japanese attacks on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at the Hawaii military base in late 1941.