Ukraine’s leader Zelenskyy to travel to Turkey for peace talks; Russia declines to participate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he would travel to Turkey on Wednesday to restart peace negotiations, but Moscow has denied that it is sending any representatives. 

Mr. Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine is prepared to unveil “developed solutions” to its partners during the Turley meeting and hopes that the visit will reinvigorate negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. 

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff is also reportedly expected to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy in Turkey on Wednesday. 

However, Russia on Tuesday said it would not send any representatives to Turkey for the talks. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would be interested in knowing the results of the negotiations, but would not participate itself. 

“No, there will be no Russian representatives in Turkey tomorrow. For now, these contacts are taking place without Russian participation,” he told reporters Tuesday.

Direct, face-to-face talks between the two nations have not taken place since Mr. Zelenskyy met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Istanbul this past July. During that meeting, representatives reached agreements for the exchange of prisoners and fallen soldiers.

The two sides have made little progress on ending the war, however, which has frustrated U.S. officials hoping to broker a peace. President Trump, who has made finding peace in Ukraine a major promise of his second term, has grown increasingly irritated at Mr. Putin and has doubted whether the Russian leader really wants peace. 

Last month, the U.S. issued new tariffs on Russian oil firms Lukoil and Rosneft in a bid to drive Moscow back to the negotiating table. 

Meanwhile, both sides have intensified their missile and drone attacks on valuable energy infrastructure beyond the front lines. On Tuesday, Ukraine said it launched a successful attack on two Russian energy stations in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. 

To facilitate their attacks into Russian territory, Ukraine has incredibly lobbied for long-range strike capabilities through platforms like the U.S.-made Tomahawk missile. Mr. Trump has rejected calls to provide Ukraine with the weapons, forcing Mr. Zelenskyy to look to his European allies for further support.