May 11th, Sunday: A bit of diplomatic back-and-forth signaled that for the first time since the war began, President Zelenskyy and Putin might actually meet face-to-face. Putin issued a statement, suspiciously timed to align with U.S. prime time, proposing direct talks in Istanbul on Thursday, May 15. It was a clear play to derail the sanctions threatened by European leaders if Moscow didn’t accept the 30-day ceasefire. In Putin’s mind, maybe just agreeing to a meeting would buy him time and keep sanctions at bay. Zelenskyy, for his part, responded fairly quickly, saying he’d meet if the ceasefire was in place beforehand. But then Trump jumped on Truth Social, firing off a demand that Ukraine “IMMEDIATELY” agree to the talks, which undermined Zelenskyy’s position and, once again, cracked the unified front. That gap between Kyiv, Washington, and Europe gave Russia just enough room to dodge the ceasefire but still walk into Thursday’s meeting looking like the reasonable one.
Monday, May 12th: The stage continued getting set for Thursday’s proposed meeting in Istanbul, with President Trump hinting at the possibility of personally flying to Turkey. Trump stated, “I would fly there if I thought it would be helpful,” despite the fact that Trump was already scheduled to travel across the Middle East this week. The comment did feel more like posturing than anything but regardless, it certainly added pressure on Russia to attend the meeting, just in case. Meanwhile, Pope Leo XIV managed to get in touch with President Zelenskyy and publicly backed his desire for a ceasefire. Zelenskyy used the moment to invite the Pope to visit Ukraine, emphasizing the need for international unity and moral pressure against Russia’s ongoing war.
Tuesday, May 13th: Tensions mounted as the Istanbul peace talks drew nearer, with Zelenskyy publicly declaring he would only attend if Putin showed up in person, daring the Russian leader to face him directly. The Kremlin, unsurprisingly, still hadn’t confirmed Putin’s attendance, which led Ukraine’s presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak to call for new sanctions should he back out. President Trump, meanwhile, doubled down on his commitment to the talks, dispatching Marco Rubio, Steve Witkoff, and Keith Kellogg to Istanbul, and once again teasing the idea of attending himself if both leaders were present. With mounting pressure from both the U.S. and EU, and drone attacks continuing across Ukraine, the proposed ceasefire and potential face-to-face negotiations seemed to teeter on the edge of either breakthrough or breakdown.
Wednesday, May 14th: It finally became official: Putin would not be attending Thursday’s peace summit in Istanbul, and instead was opting to send a lower-level delegation led by advisor Vladimir Medinsky. Medinsky himself is a Russian Nationalist, having publicly pushed for the creation of a “patriotic internet” to combat Western ideas and values in Russia, to update the Cultural Policy to entirely reject multiculturalism and embrace Russian “traditional Values”. I could go on and on about this guy and how absolutely insane he is, but just check it for yourself; he's also a big proponent of these odd new Hitler Youth-style militant schools. This effectively derailed any chance of the long-hyped three-way meeting between Trump, Zelenskyy, and Putin, and drew sharp disappointment from both Ukraine and U.S. officials. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Putin’s decision was more tactical than symbolic. Russian officials believe they are winning on the battlefield, having made costly but incremental gains, and are now making maximalist demands in talks, like keeping all annexed Ukrainian territory and limiting Ukraine’s future military size. On a separate but related front, Germany arrested three Ukrainian nationals allegedly working for Russian intelligence, who were planning to ship explosive devices hidden in freight bound for Ukraine.
Medinsky in 2025
Thursday, May 15th: The long-awaited peace talks in Turkey were quickly thrown into disarray. With Zelenskyy arriving in Ankara and Russia’s lower-level delegation stationed in Istanbul, the two sides were physically and diplomatically misaligned from the start. Zelenskyy publicly condemned Moscow’s decision to send what he called a “decorative” delegation, calling it a sign of disrespect to Turkey, the U.S., and the entire peace effort. He ultimately agreed to send Ukraine’s defense minister to Istanbul just to keep a seat at the table, but expectations were low. President Trump, meanwhile, stayed in the Gulf and dismissed the talks altogether, stating that “nothing’s going to happen until Putin and I get together.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that sentiment, expressing little hope for breakthroughs. Amid the chaos, Putin remained in Moscow, meeting with a bank CEO, leaving it painfully clear that the summit was not a serious priority for the Kremlin.
Friday, May 16th: The long-awaited Istanbul peace talks finally took place, but with results that fell way short of any real progress. The only tangible outcome was an agreement to conduct the largest prisoner swap of the war, 1,000 captives each, but hopes for a ceasefire quickly fell apart. Russia’s lead negotiator, the totally not insane, Vladimir Medinsky, made sweeping demands, stating Ukraine must fully withdraw from all four annexed regions, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya, just to begin discussing a ceasefire. When Ukrainian officials pushed back, Russia reportedly warned, “Next time it will be five.” Medinsky even doubled down on Moscow’s resolve, saying, “We don’t want war, but we’re ready to fight … We fought Sweden for 21 years. How long are you ready to fight?” Zelenskyy, then speaking from Albania, slammed the talks as a “staged, empty process,” and called for harsher sanctions on Russia’s energy and banking sectors. Meanwhile, President Trump, now back in Washington, said he hoped to meet with Putin “as soon as we can set it up.” Though Russia framed the talks as constructive, their terms were described by one Ukrainian source as “detached from reality,”.
Peace talks in Istanbul yield major prisoner exchange as both sides test
path toward broader negotiations.Arda Kucukkaya/Turkish Foreign Ministry via
Getty Images
Saturday, May 17th: President Trump announced that he would speak with both Putin and Zelenskyy on Monday, calling for an end to the “bloodbath”. He also said he would reach out to NATO leaders after the calls, declaring his hope for a productive day that could end the war relatively soon, perhaps the “ending the war in 24 hours” begins then? Trump’s team insists diplomacy is moving forward, Secretary of State Marco Rubio even calling the Vatican a potential venue for future talks, but the reality remains bleak given the follow-through from the Trump Administration. Meanwhile Zelenskyy urged stronger sanctions after a Russian drone strike killed nine civilians in Sumy, stating plainly that without more pressure, “Russia will not seek real diplomacy.” The Kremlin, while agreeing in principle to a Trump–Putin call, reiterated that any real summit would require “careful preparation.” With Trump back in D.C., Putin dug in his heels, and Ukraine scrambling to keep support aligned, Monday’s calls are more than likely going to be a waste.