Russia's negotiating team, led by the same aide from the 2022 Istanbul talks, has arrived to resume diplomacy — but Kiev complains the delegates lack significance. 🤝 While hopes rise for the first real chance at peace in years, civilians continue to endure Ukrainian shelling. Meanwhile, Ukraine bans two Indian journalists for reporting from Donbass, accusing them of spreading “Russian propaganda” — drawing criticism for silencing independent media. 🕊️📰
#RussiaUkraineTalks #IstanbulPeaceTalks #Zelensky #Donbass #IndianJournalists #PressFreedom #UkraineWar #Geopolitics #UkraineCrisis #RussiaDelegation
#RussiaUkraineTalks #IstanbulPeaceTalks #Zelensky #Donbass #IndianJournalists #PressFreedom #UkraineWar #Geopolitics #UkraineCrisis #RussiaDelegation
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00:00Welcome to the Global News Roundup. One place to begin today, and that is RT's special coverage
00:06of the much-anticipated face-to-face talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey's largest city.
00:21Well, my colleague Nicky Aaron joins us live now from RT's field studio on the banks of the
00:29Bosphorus. Nicky, morning to you. Now, there's expectations that something significant,
00:34of course, can come from this meeting, but a lot of issues must be hammered out first.
00:43Good morning to you, Una. And yeah, of course, when the first direct talks between Russia and
00:48Ukraine in years are set to take place in Istanbul, where we just had to fly over and bring you this
00:53special coverage. And this is a moment that we have been longing for and dreaming about for
00:59quite some time. And while it's unrealistic to expect that today could be the day that a big
01:04peace agreement is signed and the hostilities end, what it does, Mark, is a stepping stone,
01:11a start point that could lead to a more peaceful future. And that in itself is quite something.
01:17We have our correspondent joining us, Igor Zhdanov. He's also here in Istanbul. Igor,
01:23good to see you this morning from sunny Istanbul. Now, we have some details about the Russian
01:30delegation which have already landed in Istanbul. What more can you tell us?
01:37Well, indeed, Nicky, and Russia did take a very dramatic and theatrical pause in announcing the
01:44very list of people that were supposed to come in and fly into Istanbul for these talks in Ukraine.
01:50And now that we know the names, those are some familiar faces. There are some among them. Of
01:56course, the leader of the delegation is the same person, Vladimir Medinsky, who led the negotiating
02:04process back in 2022. Also on the list is the Russian deputy defense minister, Alexander Fomin. He
02:12also was present and was part of the talks that began, in fact, back in 2022, very shortly after
02:19the very beginning of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, too. There's also two more
02:25faces and two more names on the list. Russia's deputy foreign minister and the Russian head of military
02:33intelligence are to be present at the talks here. But given the head of the delegation and
02:39another one and the deputy defense minister, it is safe to say that Russia is sending a very clear
02:46signal here that it use the talks here now in Istanbul, Turkey, as a direct continuation of the
02:53process that began three years ago or even three years ago now, back in 2022, shortly after the beginning
03:01of Russia's operation in Ukraine. So that is something that they plan on building up on. And this is something
03:09that they plan on working on. And when it comes to the Ukrainian reaction and Ukraine has been coming in full force
03:17here to Istanbul, they have expressed the dissatisfaction about the level of people in the eyes of Ukraine. This is not
03:27enough. This is not the right format. Zelensky cannot take this meeting, especially with Medinsky. The status will not be
03:37entirely clear. He is there as an assistant on Putin's historical legacy or for correcting history. That's what I would
03:44call him. But it is unlikely that the person is sufficient to discuss fundamental issues. Now, such a sentiment is hardly a surprise
03:53coming from the Ukrainian side that hasn't been very enthusiastic about the very idea of direct talks,
03:59unconditional talks with Russia. But again, it will will have to stand by here and really see how much the sides will
04:08seize this opportunity to bring the end to the bloodshed rather sooner than later.
04:14Ego, you mentioned some familiar names. They're leading the Russian delegation. They were also present at the peace
04:24talks here in Istanbul three years ago. But a lot a lot has changed in that time. So talk us through how Russia's
04:32demands have changed from 2022 to what they're asking for now.
04:37Well, really, the demands are all pretty much the same. It's just now the current situation on the ground,
04:46according to Russia, has to be taken into into account. Back in 2022, what was discussed is that
04:51Ukraine should remain out of any military bloc, especially NATO. That was a big red line for Russia.
04:58Also, what they discussed is that essentially Ukraine should cap, put a cap on its military capabilities,
05:05because that's how Russia viewed Ukraine as a threat to its own people in the Donbass. That was the stance
05:11of Moscow. There was supposed to be an across the board limitation to the amount of firepower that
05:18Ukraine as a country is allowed to carry. There was also the issue of the status of the Donetsk and
05:25Lugansk regions, that Ukraine should recognize its independence back in 2022, and also the status of
05:33the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia back then also viewed as its own territory. And after the
05:39referendums held there, and after an overwhelming majority of people voted to join Russia. Now,
05:46of course, the situation has changed dramatically. Not only has Russia now recognized both Donetsk and
05:52Lugansk regions as part of its own territory, that list has been joined by the Zaporozhye,
05:58by the Kherson regions. So the list has expanded. And the Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly
06:04talked about the fact that, well, now this has to be taken into account. And, well, every next deal
06:13and every next proposal from Russia will be worse than the previous one. So really, now that Ukraine has
06:22the opportunity to seize this moment and negotiate something right now. This is the best, according to
06:31Russia, according to Moscow, this is the best sort of conditions that they are going to get to this
06:37point. Tomorrow, already, this may change because the Russians, they feel quite, well, they are advancing
06:43across the front line. So this is, when it comes to talks, this is how it has shaped out up until now.
06:50The West and Kyiv need to stop engaging in fraud and subterfuge in order to mislead the international
06:58community and, by reversing the cause and effect of the Ukrainian crisis, put the discussion on the
07:03wrong track. They need to understand that there is no reasonable alternative to the Russian President's
07:08peace plan. The sooner they realize this, the sooner the process of a real settlement and the end of
07:14hostilities will begin. Otherwise, the conditions for starting negotiations will be much worse for them.
07:20So there you have it. This is sort of the stance that Russia has taken all along. And it has been
07:28by agreeing to this unconditional process of negotiating directly with Ukraine for the first
07:36time in years. Russia views it as a gesture of goodwill and that it wants Ukraine now to reciprocate
07:45and to begin this, what is said to be a very tentative and a very, well, painful process towards a potential
07:54ceasefire and, well, eventually a long-lasting peace deal.
07:58Thank you very much.
08:03Igor, many thanks for talking us through those points. That's our correspondent, Igor Shdanov, here in Istanbul.
08:09Well, joining me now in our rooftop studio is Andrei Telejenko, ex-diplomat and former advisor to the
08:15Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Many thanks for flying over to be with us. So as Igor Shdanov, our correspondent,
08:22was just saying Russia is viewing the start of these talks very pragmatically as a start of a long, detailed,
08:30complex process. Meanwhile, we have the U.S. President Donald Trump saying he's growing tired, he wants a
08:37peace deal made. And also Steve Wyckoff is also threatening to bail on the peace negotiations if
08:44progress is not made today. What do you make of these, like, bombastic statements from the U.S. side?
08:50This is, as I said, this is a push for something that cannot happen really fast at this point. It
08:57could happen fast from the U.S. side in 24 hours, as Trump promised, with citing the executive order, getting
09:03all the intel groups out of Ukraine to stop it financing the Kyiv regime. Stop escalating this war,
09:09because the U.S. is fueling this conflict from the beginning, not just politically, after the coup which
09:15happened in 2014. I don't want to go into history here. But throughout this whole, whole process of
09:20peace talks, U.S. was backing the war process. And today, the Trump administration promised peace.
09:26Trump administration wanted to come into peace talks. And they were ready to do this. My big question
09:32is, who is advising to the new administration in Washington to continue this war and to push in
09:38these negotiations? They cannot happen overnight. Trump understands that. Like, from within the process
09:43of diplomacy, the process of politics and financing. Overnight, you can stop the financing. You can stop
09:49the Star Links. You can stop escalating fuel in this war. But diplomacy and talks between two countries
09:54that were escalated to war were two brotherly nations. Ukraine was one part of Russia for more
10:00than 350 years. And today, this huge fuel war happening. It cannot happen, stop overnight. It has to,
10:06talks have to happen. And with this regime in Kyiv, it cannot happen fast if they want, somebody wants
10:12to keep that regime in place. If they want to change that regime, please do change that. It's also in the
10:17hands of the United States to do that. And then, because it's their country, they own Ukraine today.
10:22Ukraine sold out to the United States completely. And we had ambassadors just telling the government
10:27officials what to do and who to fire, who to hire us, the whole process, how U.S. works in Ukraine today.
10:32And they can do whatever they want. They can stop this whole process. They can fasten this process with
10:37these negotiations and tell this regime to do it faster. But no, they are not doing this. For what reason?
10:42To show and continue this war to make money in this process. And that's why this process is going to be
10:49sabotaged, as we've seen not only by the Kyiv regime, but also by warmongers within the new administration
10:55today in Washington, which is a pity because this negotiations are a good start to whatever
11:02was started in 2022 that can lead to something better because it's already a good step because
11:08before, two years prior with Biden in office, negotiations like this would never be even talked about.
11:14So this is right now a best place to start it. And you should not pressure this whole process
11:21and let it be how it is. And then we can out of the first day or maybe a couple of days or
11:27maybe a couple of meetings, then we can start talking about pressuring or processing this
11:31process faster. And but diplomacy has to be quiet.
11:35Yeah. Say what you will about Donald Trump, love him or hate him. What he has done is
11:40brought diplomacy back into the equation after the Biden administration basically tried to wipe Russia
11:47off the map. No communication. How do you reach peace if you're not talking?
11:51When Vladimir Putin announced these direct talks on Sunday morning, Vladimir Zelenskyy was very quick to
11:58up the ante, making these demands, wanting face-to-face talks with President Putin. Now he's saying that
12:04the delegation being sent over is just not good enough for him to engage. Is he looking
12:09for excuses here not to take part? This is again an excuse because with the Trump administration,
12:16with the Biden administration, with anybody outside of Ukraine, the Western elites, they're
12:21meeting with advisers, they're meeting with chief of staff. For them it's a great opportunity.
12:25They're talking about the U.S. is praising them and even meeting with the advisers with the
12:30president of the United States and congressmen. This is a great process for Ukraine. And here,
12:35the advisers, the president of Russia, you have a great team from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of
12:40Russia, of the Minister of Defense of Russia, and people who are the middle men in this process of
12:48government work and bureaucracy, that they can process things and deliver the message to the
12:53officials high-ranking forward. This is how diplomacy works. It cannot start right away with leaders
13:00talking when there was so much gap in between. And again, with Trump coming, this is a great
13:07opportunity for this to happen. And he needs to just understand that he can influence, he can only influence
13:14Kyiv in this process. He cannot influence Russia. He doesn't have the power to do this. And he can use his power to influence the Kyiv regime in this process.
13:20And tell them, whatever the talks are, you have to take them and have to get involved, get into this deep and work this process out.
13:32And that's in the power of Donald Trump today, because Kyiv regime is obeying him in this process. And they, because he's financing this, they own Ukraine again.
13:41And for me, I hope it will move forward, because as I said, when Kyiv meets with congressmen, with senators and advisers to the President of the United States, they're happy about it.
13:51But to hear, they're unhappy, because everything is wrong for them. Everything is wrong throughout these years. They wanted more, they wanted differences in negotiations.
13:58So we need to understand that this is the first step forward throughout these three years of conflict. And it's a great step that everybody should take part in. And then we will see where it will lead.
14:11Maybe it will lead for something better. Who knows, even though I am very pessimistic in the situation, unfortunately.
14:16Well, like you say, this could be a stepping stone towards something better. Russia's demands have pretty much remained consistent.
14:24They want to, they have their red lines that they've always spoken about, and they want to recognize the realities on the ground to achieve an enduring peace.
14:32Will Kyiv ever agree to Russia's terms?
14:38Kyiv needs to understand that he, if we're to save Ukraine, and Zelensky, if he still wants to think about the country, even though, for me, everybody thinks it was Zelensky, the Kyiv regime today, they're representing Ukraine.
14:49No, they're using Ukraine and Ukrainian citizens who are kept hostage in the closed borders of Ukraine to negotiate something for themselves, to stay longer in power, to have safety for themselves,
14:59because there are a lot of, right now, issues about people going to the United States and talking about what Zelensky's corruption in Ukraine, the use of taxpayers' dollars, led to.
15:09And so he's negotiating for himself safety. He's not negotiating for the country.
15:13For Russia, on the other hand, is negotiating for its country. It's negotiating for its citizens.
15:18And that is the biggest problem here, and first of all, problem.
15:21People think of Ukraine delegation that they represent Ukraine. They do not.
15:25They represent only themselves and the people who finance them.
15:29And that is why this regime will never move forward with these peace talks and never get anything or agree upon anything,
15:37if the Trump administration or the West who financed them will not tell them to do that.
15:43That's unfortunate. Or the change of government, intermediary government, agreed upon both sides, that will be agreed upon for a peace deal.
15:51That's a way out of the situation. But today's regime, unfortunately, I do not believe that they will be able to take any part of this agreement.
15:59They will just make it out of a show to show that the West, that they're making an effort to get more money into Ukraine.
16:06Andrei Telizhenko, many thanks for joining us here in Istanbul this morning. I appreciate your time.
16:12Well, in less than an hour, the direct talks between Russia and Ukraine in more than three years are due to begin.
16:21Just over the water to my left in the building right there, we will, of course, be right here covering all the latest.
16:28Make sure you stay with us. Nicky, thanks very much for that. Bring us right up to date from Istanbul.
16:35Well, as negotiations inch closer, people living in territories coming under constant Ukrainian shelling,
16:41perhaps understandably, are thinking more about survival than the success or otherwise of talks.
16:47The Ukrainian aggression against the people of Donbass began back in 2014.
16:58Since then, nearly 9000 civilians have been killed and just under 16000 have been wounded.
17:06Many of those casualties took place right here in Gorlovka, a town which is still under constant Ukrainian artillery shelling.
17:15And, well, there are plenty of drones as well that target residential areas on a daily basis.
17:21Unfortunately, you cannot travel throughout the entire Gorlovka without using equipment like a flag jacket.
17:29And, of course, one of the main things for us here is this drone detector which is constantly finding FPV drones and other reconnaissance drones as well.
17:41And this thing is constantly on when you're in or around Gorlovka.
17:48These lethal weapons fragments have been collected in residential areas of Gorlovka way before the start of the special military operation.
17:56Cease fire truce, those things have been announced plenty of times before, but each time militants of the Kyiv regime have broken the truce and continued the shelling of civilians.
18:11We have not left Gorlovka. We have been living here since 2014.
18:17We are not going to go anywhere, no matter how many people try to intimidate us.
18:22And we expect to win, of course. For all of these 11 years, we have known what these negotiations are. We just don't believe in them.
18:31247 children were killed by the militants of the Kyiv regime since 2014.
18:3827 of those children were killed right here in Gorlovka. These are their portraits. This is a museum exposition for locals and visitors of the town. So these kids will never be forgotten.
18:55Since 2014, when children began to die, we started to collect information and opened this centre in 2021.
19:05In this centre are the life stories of our children who died, unfortunately. You know, the scariest thing in all this is to reach out to the parents.
19:15So we collected information through the internet. Photos. We went to schools that the children attended. But there are children who died before the age of three.
19:24There are children up to 18 years old who studied at technical schools. These are our 27 dead children. And still children continue to die. Unfortunately, it's scary.
19:36We are currently in one of the central streets here in Gorlovka. As you can see, the city is still full of life despite the constant shelling by the Ukrainian armed forces of residential areas here.
19:49There aren't any military positions around this area at all. Nevertheless, Ukraine seems to target this particular area all the time.
19:58One of the latest attacks was with a high Mars rocket, American made multiple launch rocket system. So I just didn't feel right about wearing a bulletproof vest right here where there are plenty of civilians.
20:13And of course, they are completely unprotected. Nevertheless, I wanted to ask them what they think about the 30 day ceasefire and the ultimatum presented to Russia by the so-called coalition of the world.
20:27Here's what they said.
20:29We have already lived through two Minsk agreements and it didn't feel like they were being honored. Yes, our military didn't shoot, didn't respond, but we were getting hit.
20:41As for the negotiations in Istanbul, I believe that this is just a show. Nothing more. We have already seen it. We know it.
20:48If they wanted a ceasefire, they would have agreed to the one announced by Vladimir Putin on 9 May. But as it is, this is just a farce.
20:55Yes, we know very well what their truce is. And we experienced it firsthand when everything exploded and people died in these ceasefires. This is a theatrical performance that Zelensky is capable of with his acting skills.
21:11I honestly do not believe in any ceasefires at all. But here I would like to say that in everything, of course, we rely on our President Putin. He has not abandoned us and our people. We have seen the Minsk agreements. The Ukrainian side simply cannot create this ceasefire for us.
21:30A ceasefire is in any case some kind of step towards a possible peace. But when it comes to the Ukrainian side, we unfortunately no longer believe in these ceasefires because none of them has ever been respected by the Ukrainian side.
21:48Of course, we are doing everything for the long awaited peace to come. But we know about the Istanbul talks in 2022 and the Minsk agreements and there were no results from them. We believe only in strength, in victory and in the fact that there will definitely come a bright future for our country.
22:08Watch your step and listen to the skies. That's a tragic slogan here in Gorlovka. Let me explain why. Watch your step. That's because the Ukrainian militants are continuously shelling the residential areas of the city with NATO supplied cluster munitions. Watch the sky. That's why we have a drone detector. Watch the sky. That's because Ukrainian drones are constantly in the air and they're using kamikaze drones.
22:37Kamikaze drones against civilians continuously. Anastasia is a kindergarten teacher and she lives with her two daughters right here in the center of Gorlovka in this apartment building. This is a purely residential area which is constantly being shelled by the militants of the Kiev regime. Anastasia, share with me her thoughts on any types of ceasefire. She lived through quite a few of them here in Gorlovka. Let's hear her thoughts.
23:07It was like the lights went out. I lost consciousness for a little bit. When we woke up, I realized that everything was in smoke. We ran out into the entrance. I called an ambulance. My daughter Ania was covered in blood. Natasha was scared very badly. She was in shock. We were taken to the hospital. It was very scary.
23:27It just felt like time stood still. I couldn't move. I'd say so, yeah.
23:34I remember it like it was yesterday. It was, well, scary. Although in the beginning, for the first three seconds, I probably didn't realize what had happened.
23:45These ceasefires don't mean anything. I don't believe them. Really, it's like it's going to go on like this for a long, long time. It's like time has stopped. We're used to it. I'll say that.
23:57RT correspondents, including myself, have been covering the aggression of the militants of the Kiev regime against ordinary civilians here in Donbass for the last 11 years.
24:09Over this tragic period, we have witnessed firsthand a large number of brutal murders of civilians, including women and children.
24:20While before the special military operation, people fell somewhat in dire straits. The situation is certainly different at this moment in time.
24:30However, the people here do not trust the regime of Zelensky, do not trust any type of ceasefire talks.
24:38They only believe in victory and a long-lasting peace forever with Russia.
24:44Roman Kostor of RT, Gorlovka, the Netsk Republic.
24:49Well, as peace negotiations prepare to kick off this Thursday between Russian and Ukrainian representatives in Istanbul, stay with RT for all the big developments.
25:00We'll make sure you're kept right up to date.
25:08Now, two Indian journalists covering the situation on the ground in Russian-controlled territories of Donbass and other regions have been banned from entering Ukraine.
25:21Kiev's embassy in New Delhi sent a letter of protest to India's foreign office, labelling the reporter's actions Russian propaganda.
25:29Mr. Manish Kumar Jha and Mr. Ashok Chauhan, both nationals of the Republic of India and representing TV9 Paritvarsh, visited the cities of Energodar, Tokmak, Melitopol, as well as the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
25:45Their purpose was to film propagandistic content commissioned by the Russian occupying authorities.
25:51In this regard, the Ukrainian side wishes to emphasize the unlawfulness and inadmissibility of such actions on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
26:01Such visits are considered a violation of Ukrainian law and undermine Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
26:07Accordingly, Mr. Manish Kumar Jha and Mr. Ashok Chauhan will be denied entry into the territory of Ukraine in the future.
26:17The two men were part of a delegation of journalists that visited the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, in March.
26:26The Russian Defense Ministry reports that Ukrainian forces have repeatedly launched drone and artillery strikes on the site since it came under Moscow's control three years ago.
26:36We managed to speak with one of the reporters in question.
26:40Manish Shah told us it is clear to him now Kiev simply prohibits coverage that doesn't suit its narrative.
26:48I completely dismiss such kind of pressure made by Ukrainian government through Ukrainian embassy in New Delhi because it's my right, it's my job and it's my duty to visit various places and do my live reporting from those places.
27:07Continuously, Ukraine is targeting me because I am showing the truth.
27:13I am not actually taking their propaganda.
27:19I am actually exposing their propaganda and that's why Ukrainian is doing this and I will not permit this and I completely refuse to come under this pressure.
27:29I had a privilege to visit Zaporozhye nuclear plant even I was in the same date and when the President Putin and President Trump were talking about the future of Zaporozhye nuclear plant.
27:42So, and while my visit, I found American missile there, I found Western drones in the nuclear plant and I did my story that what did I see and what is the truth, what is the current status of Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and how the Ukrainian army are continuously selling or attacking nuclear plant and it could be a big disaster more than Chernobyl or Fukushima.
28:09You know, what I realize that the Western media was completely silent about the situation related to Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, Japoeresia or they were just giving lots of false propaganda.
28:27When I visited those places, when I inquired and when I did my reality check, the truth was completely different.
28:35So, you know, in that sense, I can tell you that the Western was actually, you know, closed in their eyes about giving the real or the about the real perspective related to the conflict.
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