Russia proposes second round of Ukraine peace talks amid war of words with Trump

Earlier this month, delegates from Russia and Ukraine met in Istanbul for peace talks, the first since March 2022. The summit occurred as President Trump pressured both sides to bring the bloody 3-year-old conflict to an end. However, little progress was made in reaching common ground for a ceasefire. The two sides did agree on a large prisoner swap which has been honored by both sides.

Since that round of talks concluded, there has been a notable uptick in the ferocity of Russian attacks on Ukraine. Russia has since launched several large-scale attacks on Ukrainian cities and other populated areas using drones and ballistic missiles.

While the majority of the fighting has long been concentrated in Ukraine’s eastern border regions, these attacks have been reaching deeper into Ukraine. There have also been significant civilian casualties, including just this weekend when 14 Ukrainians, including 6 children, were killed in a ballistic missile attack.

Russia offers new talks

President Trump, who has been accused of being more favorable to Russia than Ukraine, was quick to condemn these attacks on civilians. In a recent TruthSocial post, he accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of having gone “absolutely CRAZY”. He also said that he was considering new sanctions on Russia.

In response, the Kremlin has accused Trump of not being fully informed about the situation. However, they have now proposed a new round of peace talks to take place in Istanbul in June. Trump has since walked back on his intention to impose sanctions, saying he does not want them to sabotage the prospect of a ceasefire.

Little has changed that would make these talks more likely to be successful. Putin’s conditions for a ceasefire do not appear to have softened. If anything, sources indicate that he is now even less willing to entertain territorial compromises.

Russia currently controls one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. They continue to make gains in Ukraine’s eastern front and have now ramped up operations to their most intense level since January. Cities in this area now face increasing uncertainty and are on the receiving end of devastating new weapons recently introduced.

What’s unclear is whether Putin is pressing his battlefield advantage to increase his leverage at the negotiating table, or whether the negotiations themselves are a stalling tactic to allow his troops to seize more Ukrainian territory.