Timings have been revealed for expected peace talks in Turkey today between Russia and Ukraine – the first direct negotiations in years. On the battlefield, Ukraine has revealed the loss of an F-16 fighter jet. Follow the latest and listen to the Daily podcast below as you scroll.
Friday 16 May 2025 08:53, UK
A meeting between the US, Ukraine and Turkey has started in Istanbul, a Turkish foreign ministry source has said.
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in Istanbul for today’s peace talks aimed at putting an end to the three-year war in Ukraine.
Rubio yesterday cast doubts on whether the direct Ukraine-Russia talks would amount to anything, saying there would be no “breakthrough” until Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin met face-to-face.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the US yesterday for sending Rubio – while comparing it to the “decorative” and low-level Russian delegation, after Putin opted not to attend.
The US will be represented during talks with the Russian delegation in Istanbul today by director for policy planning Michael Anton, a US State Department spokesperson has said.
A few pictures have emerged of the press gathering outside the Turkish presidency’s Dolmabahce working office, where Russia and Ukraine’s direct talks might happen later in Istanbul.
Journalists can be seen taking their places behind a barrier.
As mentioned earlier, while scheduled talks between Ukraine and Russia failed to materialise yesterday, they are now set to take place this morning.
Russia and Ukraine are set to meet for their first direct talks in more than three years today.
The first meeting of the day will see Turkey, the US and Ukraine meet, according to the Turkish foreign ministry service.
Russia and Ukraine will then hold their direct talks later, with Turkish representatives in attendance.
The first meeting is scheduled for 8.45am UK time and the second for 10.30am UK time.
Russian and Ukrainian delegations were expected to meet yesterday but Russia’s representation ended up meeting with Turkey’s foreign minister in Istanbul last night.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, was in Ankara, Turkey’s capital, to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The talks in Istanbul were arranged after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for direct talks between the warring parties last Sunday.
Zelenskyy called on the Kremlin leader to meet him in person, but Putin chose not to attend, instead sending what the Ukrainian leader branded as a “decorative” and low-level Russian delegation.
Ukraine has lost an F-16 fighter jet after an “unusual situation” on board but the pilot was able to safely eject, the Ukrainian air force has said in a statement.
“According to preliminary data… an unusual situation arose on board. The pilot moved the aircraft away from the settlement and successfully ejected,” it said on Telegram.
The pilot was feeling fine, the force added.
A commission has been appointed to investigate all the circumstances of what happened.
The air force said the loss did not appear to be a result of Russian fire.
It’s the second crash involving an F-16 since Ukrainian forces started receiving them from US allies last year.
In late August, an F-16 crashed and its pilot died while repelling a major Russian air strike.
Welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.
After yesterday’s direct talks between Ukraine and Russia failed to materialise, there is hope that today the two sides could come face to face in Turkey.
A delegation from Moscow – without Vladimir Putin – arrived in Istanbul yesterday where it was expected they would take part in the first direct talks with Kyiv in more than three years.
Instead, it was Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, who met with Russia’s team, led by presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky.
Medinsky called the meeting “productive”.
Today we’re expecting, according to Turkish foreign ministry sources:
We’ll bring you up to speed with the latest on those discussions and all the latest developments shortly – stay tuned.
We’ll be back again in the morning with live updates from the war in Ukraine.
Until then, here’s a rundown of what’s been happening over the last 24 hours:
Watch: Russia “not serious” about peace talks, Zelenskyy says
The ceasefire negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are reaching a critical point.
The Ukrainians believe they’ve called the Kremlin’s bluff over Vladimir Putin’s no-show in Turkey, while Moscow will feel like its humiliated Volodymyr Zelenskyy by sending a junior delegation to Istanbul.
To dissect what this all means, here’s Sky’s Alex Rossi, Dominic Waghorn and Ivor Bennett with everything you need to know.
By Adam Parsons, Europe correspondent
So is this the beginning of the end, the end of the beginning or just a bit of pointless pantomime? Or might it be all of them, depending on your point of view?
On the one hand, Ukraine’s leader has turned up for peace talks with a strong backroom team and a desire to negotiate over the war.
From his perspective, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called the bluff of Vladimir Putin.
“You said you wanted to talk, so here I am,”is the message.
But Putin is, for the moment at least, nowhere to be seen, and neither are the members of his very top team.
No Sergei Lavrov, for instance, the foreign minister who has sourly dismissed these negotiations as being blighted by “Western puppeteers” controlling Zelenskyy, who he described as “a pathetic person”.
So is that bluster a sign of absolute genuine contempt, or a negotiating tactic? Probably both.
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Ukraine war latest: First direct peace talks in three years expected soon; F-16 jet lost in 'unusual situation' – Sky News
