The Latest Breaking News from Kremlin

A senior Ukrainian official at the peace talks in Istanbul accused Moscow of introducing “unacceptable demands” that had not been previously discussed, including calls for Kyiv’s forces to withdraw from large swaths of territory they control so a complete ceas efire to be implemented

The first direct talks on halting Russia's war on Ukraine in more than three years started on Friday in Istanbul, with low expectations the two sides will agree to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II.

Samsung and Xiaomi join the list of Big Tech giants facilitating Russia's censorship, killing the AdGuard VPN app from their official app stores in the country.

Zelensky accuses Moscow of sending ‘theatre prop’ negotiating team to Turkey

Two sides set for first direct negotiations since March 2022 but Russia’s lower-level delegation in Istanbul seen as snub

Volodymyr Zelensky says the Russian leader’s failure to attend talks in Turkey shows he is not serious about ending Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine

Russian President accused of ‘lack of respect’ after failing to attend the talks himself and sending low-level delegation

The delegations – not due to include Zelenskyy or Putin – are comprised of a mix of high-profile Ukrainians and lesser-known Russians

On eve of Istanbul talks, Moscow ignored a call for a 30-day ceasefire and showed signs of preparing for new offensives.

Russia's former culture minister and Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky took part in failed talks with Ukraine at the start of Moscow's invasion in 2022 and has built a career promoting an ultra-patriotic version of Russian history.

Putin was not included on a list of Moscow's negotiating team published by the Kremlin late Wednesday, after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky challenged him to turn up in person to the talks.