Istanbul is hosting Russian-Ukrainian peace talks on Monday, as tensions rise after Ukraine’s drone attack on Russian airfields, alongside unexplained bridge explosions. The two delegations have arrived at Ciragan Palace in Istanbul, accompanied by a group of senior Turkish officials, marking the second round of peace talks in the past three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Images from the event reveal that many of the Ukrainian delegation is dressed in military uniforms, contrasting with the Russian delegation who wore formal suits. Details of the meeting are withheld from the public until its conclusion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not meet face-to-face, as per the current arrangement.
According to a recent report, Ukrainian forces destroyed 40 aircraft in the drone attack on the weekend, an operation that, according to an official statement, took over a year to prepare. Russia’s defense ministry confirmed the attack, indicating that it struck multiple airfields. The operation involved drones transported in containers by trucks into Russian territory.
The drones reportedly targeted 41 planes stationed at various airfields, including A-5, Tu-95, and Tu-22M aircraft, as per the official report. The events show a coordinated effort from the Ukrainian side. The report also notes that Moscow has previously used Tupolev Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers to launch missiles at Ukraine, with A-50s used for coordinating targets and detecting air defenses and missiles.
A series of bridge explosions also occurred in Russia near the Ukrainian border on Saturday, although Ukraine has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks. A highway bridge over a railway in the Bryansk region was destroyed at 10:50 p.m. on Saturday night, as a passenger train carrying 388 passengers was passing underneath, according to Russian investigators. Just four hours later, a railway bridge over a highway was blown up in the neighboring Kursk region, with parts of a freight train raining down on the road.