Trump said he might join talks if Putin showed—instead Russia sent low-level delegation and continues to bomb Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that the absence of a high-level Russian delegation in Turkiye is a sign of disrespect toward Kyiv, Ankara, and Washington, UkrInform reports.

On 10 May, Ukraine, France, Germany, the UK, and Poland proposed a 30-day unconditional ceasefire. In the event of refusal, Ukraine’s allies intended to impose tough sanctions on Russia.

Later, Vladimir Putin proposed resuming direct negotiations with Ukraine “where they were interrupted” in 2022—namely, in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that he expected Russia to implement a ceasefire starting 12 May and would personally wait for Putin in Türkiye on 15 May.

However, the Russian ruler instead sent a delegation led by his aide, Vladimir Medinsky, to Istanbul.

Earlier, Zelenskyy had said he would not meet in Türkiye with any Russian representative except Putin. He called the Russian delegation that arrived on Thursday “a facade.”

For his part, Trump did not rule out visiting Istanbul, where negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian representatives might take place.

“I believe the Kremlin leader must show leadership, and if he’s ready for negotiations, he should show up. Without any preconditions or the like, just as he claimed to want,” Zelenskyy says.

He stresses that the Ukrainian delegation is in Ankara and will later head to Istanbul. The Russian delegation and the Russian president himself are absent.

“The US and Turkiye, I believe, feel disrespected by Russia. There’s no meeting time, no meeting agenda, no high-level delegation. That is personal disrespect,” Zelenskyy says.

Trump is sending a large team to the talks, including Secretary of State Rubio.

“Secretary Rubio is here, Türkiye’s foreign minister is here, Ukraine’s foreign minister is here. Where is the appropriate person from the Russian Federation?” Zelenskyy emphasizes.

The Ukrainian president notes that consistency and constructive dialogue are crucial for Kyiv.

“Even now, despite the level of delegations, we are deliberately sending our delegation led by Ukraine’s Minister of Defense to ensure no one can later claim that something failed because of Ukraine, especially when it comes to talks falling apart,” Zelenskyy says.

He stresses that Ukraine expects sanctions measures if Russia does not move forward toward ending the war.

“Even now, no one is talking about ending the war—everyone is only discussing a ceasefire. Because everyone understands how difficult the path forward is with these people,” Zelenskyy reveals.

So far, Russia has not ceased fire. On the contrary, Ukrainian troops have begun reporting an uptick in Russian military activity in several directions.

At the same time, in the city of Sumy, a day of mourning is underway for victims of Russian shelling that occurred after the Western-announced ceasefire deadline of 12 May. However, no new sanctions have been introduced.