Russia and Ukraine continued to launch air strikes overnight as the second round of direct peace talks were held in Turkiye.

The Ukrainian delegation arrived in Istanbul on Monday, despite recent rhetoric from Kiev that follow-up to the first round of negotiations between last month’s rivals may not be participants, with Russia making little progress in the war as it invaded its neighbors in February 2022.

Russian negotiators also announced that they had arrived in Turkish cities and that under pressure from the United States, Kiev and Moscow will show their respective memorandums on peace terms.

The first round of negotiations ended in a prisoner exchange agreement, with Ukraine complaining that Russia continues to make unacceptable and unrealistic demands.

Russia refuses to send its memorandum to Kiev in advance. However, Vladimir Medinsky, the president's adviser to the host negotiator, was quoted by the Tass News Agency, who said the Kremlin had received a proposal from Ukraine.

According to Reuters, Kiev has proposed a roadmap for lasting peace, and the conditions Moscow is trying to stick to have no limits on its military strength and no international recognition of Russia's sovereignty.

When the delegation arrived in Turkuy, Ukrainian officials were busy coordinating with European allies, who were seeking uncertainty about the U.S. commitment under Donald Trump to seek support for Kief.

Prior to meeting with the Russians, the Ukrainian delegation met with representatives from Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Around the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, to hold a summit with leaders of NATO's eastern and northern European members, Kiev's most determined supporter of the Russian invasion.

"If Ukraine is not at the NATO summit, it would be Putin's victory, but not Ukraine, but NATO," he said last week.

Zelenskyy hopes the Western military alliance provides security assurances for Ukraine in a ceasefire or peace agreement, which Moscow calls “unacceptable.”

Zelenskyy reiterated his call for a "completely unconditional ceasefire" ahead of the negotiations.

"Second - the release of prisoners. Third - the return of the kidnapped children."

Zelenskyy also called for a direct meeting with Putin. The Kremlin had previously stated that meetings could be held only after the delegation reached a broader "agreed".

Russia continues to demand that the ceasefire agreement must resolve the "root cause" of the conflict. It has always referred to limiting Ukraine's military capabilities, forbidding Ukraine from joining NATO and agreeing to territorial concessions.

Large-scale bombing

When the delegation arrived in Istanbul, both countries reported bombings by large-scale all-night attacks.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that its air defense forces had "intercepted and destroyed" 162 Ukrainian drones, most of which were in border areas, including 57 intercepted areas in the Kursk region, while 31 intercepted in the Bergorod region.

One day ago, Ukraine carried out one of the largest and most successful attacks on Russian soil, attacking dozens of strategic bombers in Siberia and other military bases in the country.

Meanwhile, Ukraine reported that Russia has targeted its territory with 80 drones, which constitutes 12 targets.

Kherson's governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote in a telegram that the artillery fire killed a 40-year-old man in the Korabelny area.

He added that a five-year-old was also injured in the attack by Heson and was subject to medical supervision.