Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was sending a delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov for peace talks with a Russian team in Istanbul after it became clear Vladimir Putin would not be attending,

The Ukrainian president likened Russian negotiators dispatched to Istanbul to “theater props,” as direct talks between both sides remain uncertain.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s snub of Thursday’s peace talks in Turkey shows how “unserious” the Kremlin is about ending its war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr