Fresh attacks from both sides have left civilians dead in Russia and Ukraine, just hours after the latest round of peace talks ended without progress.
In Ukraine, three people were killed in the Kharkiv region after a strike leveled a residential building, while others were injured in Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhia. The historic Pryvoz market in Odesa, along with a UNESCO-protected boulevard, sustained damage in overnight strikes, sparking multiple fires across the city.
Meanwhile, Russian officials reported two fatalities and 11 injuries following a Ukrainian drone attack on Sochi in the Krasnodar region. A separate Russian strike on Kharkiv early Thursday wounded 33 more.
The brief negotiations in Istanbul, which lasted barely an hour, yielded little beyond an agreement to exchange 1,200 prisoners of war. Russia also proposed repatriating the remains of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers, but no substantive steps toward ending the conflict emerged.
Ukrainian officials had hoped to arrange direct talks between their leader and Russia’s president by late August, but Moscow dismissed the idea as premature. Kremlin representatives stressed that significant groundwork remains before such a meeting could occur.
Despite international pressure, including recent warnings from the U.S., neither side appears willing to compromise on core demands. Russia insists on Ukraine abandoning NATO ambitions and drastically scaling back its military, conditions Kyiv and its Western allies firmly reject.
As the war drags into its fourth year, diplomatic efforts remain stalled, with each side blaming the other for the impasse.
