Russia-Ukraine Peace Talks Set for Geneva Next Week

Another round of U.S.-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine will take place next week in Geneva, officials from both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed on Friday.

According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the meeting will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. The talks were also confirmed by Dmytro Lytvyn, communications adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The negotiations come just days before the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022.

War Continues During Talks

Despite the diplomatic efforts, the war continues along a roughly 1,250-kilometer front line. Ukraine has faced continued Russian strikes on civilian areas and the national power grid, while Kyiv has been carrying out near-daily long-range drone attacks on Russian war-related targets.

Previous Talks Failed to Resolve Key Issues

The previous U.S.-led attempts, including two rounds of talks in Abu Dhabi, did not solve major disagreements. One of the most difficult issues remains the future of Ukraine’s Donbas region, which is largely occupied by Russian forces.

Zelenskyy said last week that the United States has given both sides a June deadline to reach a deal. Earlier deadlines set by U.S. President Donald Trump passed without major consequences.

Delegations and Negotiators

Russia’s delegation will be led by Vladimir Medinsky, a senior adviser to President Vladimir Putin. Medinsky also led Russia’s team in the first direct peace talks held in Istanbul in March 2022.

Ukraine’s delegation will again be led by Rustem Umerov, chief of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.

It is not yet clear which American officials will attend the Geneva talks. In Abu Dhabi, the U.S. delegation included envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

Fighting and Casualties

Overnight, Russian strikes killed three brothers aged 8 to 19 in eastern Ukraine, according to authorities. Their mother and grandmother survived but were injured, the Donetsk regional prosecutor’s office said.

In Odesa, one person was killed and six others injured in a Russian attack targeting the city’s port and energy infrastructure, officials reported.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses shot down 58 Ukrainian drones overnight across several regions and annexed Crimea. Of these, 43 drones were downed over the Volgograd region, where drone debris injured three people, including a 12-year-old boy, according to the local governor.

Ukraine has recently targeted the Volgograd oil refinery, which is considered a key strategic site.

Current Situation on the Ground

Russia has captured about 20% of Ukraine since hostilities began in 2014. While Russia continues to advance, officials say progress has been slow and costly.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Russia is not winning as some believe, calling Russia’s advance “very slow” and compared it to the “speed of a garden snail.”