Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough are still dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.

Neither Russian President Vladimir Putin nor U.S. President Donald Trump look likely to attend peace talks that were due to be held in Turkey on Thursday. Putin had suggested last Sunday that he was willing to hold "direct negotiations" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul this week "without any preconditions.

A low-ranking Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, while a Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and including Defence Minister Rustem Umerov,