As Ukrainian and Russian negotiators traveled to Istanbul on Sunday for a second round of peace talks scheduled for Monday, Ukraine stole the show by choosing to send a message not over the negotiating table — but through armed attacks.
On the same day, Ukraine confirmed it had launched its largest long-range airstrike since the war began, targeting at least 40 Russian warplanes at four military bases, with losses estimated at $7 billion.
The strikes were carried out using drones smuggled into Russian territory and operated from close range by Ukrainian special services, the SBU. The large-scale operation was planned for 18 months and is known as the “Spiderweb” operation.
Russia confirmed the strikes in five regions, including Irkutsk, Murmansk, Ivanovo and Ryazan, some of which are up to 4,000 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, and described them as “acts of terrorism.”
The attack came just hours before delegations from both countries were due to meet to discuss a ceasefire and prisoner swap, raising questions about Ukraine's sincerity in the talks.
Russia has not yet commented officially, but pro-Kremlin figures have reportedly called for the talks to be halted immediately and have called for a military response.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to host a summit between President Zelensky, President Putin and Donald Trump is also facing a major challenge.
With the talks increasingly fragile, the question is no longer when the war will end, but whether either side really wants it to end.
