Ukraine wants to see a document setting out Russia's proposals for a peace deal before it sends a delegation to Istanbul for bilateral talks, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Friday.

Low-level delegations from Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years in Istanbul on May 16. The talks, which lasted two hours, brought no significant breakthrough, although both sides agreed to the largest prisoner exchange of the war. It was carried out last weekend and freed 1,000 captives on each side.

Russia's troop buildup on Ukraine's border raises tensions. Zelenskyy and Trump push for peace talks, but Moscow's refusal to hand over memorandum stalls negotiations.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday about the preparation of "concrete proposals" for a new round of direct talks with Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry said.

Donald Trump has issued a fresh warning to Vladimir Putin after the Russian president made a series of demands for the West to meet in order to secure peace in Ukraine

President Donald Trump said he’s holding off on new sanctions against Russia in order to preserve the chance for a deal with President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.

BERLIN — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will meet with new German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Wednesday as Ukraine seeks further military support amid a recent escalation in Russia's bombing campaign, despite U.S.-led efforts to end the war.

By Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa KYIV (Reuters) -Russian forces have captured four villages in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, the local governor said, the latest battlefield setback for Kyiv as it seeks to hold territory and avoid handing Moscow the advantage in any peace talks.