KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials are actively working to arrange direct negotiations between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin, hoping such a meeting could revitalize dormant peace discussions led by the United States, according to the country’s foreign minister.
At the same time, a Ukrainian drone strike far inside Russian territory hit an apartment building, resulting in the deaths of a woman and child, Russian authorities reported Wednesday.
Ukraine has approached Turkey for assistance in organizing high-level discussions and has contacted other nations about potentially hosting such talks, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha revealed. He noted that Ukraine would accept any location except Russia and Belarus.
“We are … advocating for a (summit) meeting now to bring new momentum to diplomacy,” Sybiha told reporters on Tuesday. His remarks were embargoed until Wednesday.
Diplomatic efforts mediated by the United States over the past year between Russian and Ukrainian representatives have achieved minimal progress on critical matters, including the status of four Ukrainian territories that Moscow seeks to control but has not fully captured. With Washington now focused heavily on the Iran conflict, these negotiations have been suspended.
While Zelenskyy has agreed to an unconditional ceasefire as requested by U.S. President Donald Trump, Putin has rejected this proposal. Experts believe Putin assumes time favors Russia, expecting Western military aid and financial backing to diminish while Ukraine’s ability to resist eventually weakens.
The brutal conflict continues along an approximately 1,250-kilometer (800-mile) battle line stretching across eastern and southern Ukraine. Western intelligence sources and military analysts estimate Russia is experiencing tens of thousands of combat losses monthly, creating conditions reminiscent of World War I’s devastating battles.
Independent confirmation of military casualties and determining which side holds advantages remains impossible.
Ukraine has built up its own weapons manufacturing capabilities, increasingly creating long-distance drones and missiles that can reach targets deep within Russia. Ukrainian forces have focused attacks on Russian oil facilities and factories supporting Moscow’s military operations.
In Syzran, located in Russia’s Samara region approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) east of Ukraine’s border, a drone attack caused part of an apartment building to collapse, regional officials reported.
Rescue workers recovered the bodies of a woman and child from the debris while 12 additional people sustained injuries, local authorities confirmed.
Photographs from the location revealed a section of a four-story structure reduced to a enormous pile of wreckage, with emergency responders working on top of the rubble.
Russian news outlets noted that a Rosneft oil refinery — a common target of Ukrainian drone operations — sits on the same street as the damaged residential building.
Ukraine’s aerial attacks against Russia surged nearly fourfold last year, increasing from 6,200 strikes in 2024 to over 23,000 in 2025, according to Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia’s Security Council, who made the statement last month.
