Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov has landed in Istanbul ahead of negotiations. He was greeted by Ukraine’s ambassador to Turkey, Nariman Dzhelyal, who not long ago was freed from Russian captivity after being held as a political prisoner.

The Russian delegation, led by Vladimir Medinsky, has left their hotel in Istanbul and is en route to the venue where talks with Ukraine are set to take place.

SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk spoke about Operation Spiderweb, saying 41 Russian strategic planes at 4 airbases were hit—about a third of their missile carriers. The mission took over 1.5 years to prepare and used drones hidden under mobile homes. He called it a historic, legal strike and promised Ukraine will keep defending and fighting back.

"The enemy thought they could bomb Ukraine and kill Ukrainians with impunity and endlessly. But that's not the case. We will respond to Russian terror and destroy the enemy everywhere – at sea, in the air, and on land. And if needed, we'll reach them even underground," he added.

Residents of Russia’s Irkutsk region report multi-kilometer traffic jams caused by police inspections of trucks suspected of transporting drones.

❗️ President Zelensky expressed doubts about Russia’s readiness for productive talks in Istanbul. “Our team is preparing for the meeting. I’m not sure Russia will be ready for constructive discussions, but we must always hope for solutions,” he said after arriving in Vilnius.

"We have stronger tactical solutions, our operation 'Spiderweb' yesterday proved it. Russia must feel what these losses mean, that will push it towards diplomacy," Zelensky said in Vilnius.

"If Russia does not want a solution via diplomacy, new, strong sanctions are needed," he added.

🇺🇦🇩🇪🇬🇧🇮🇹 Ukrainian negotiators in Istanbul met with representatives from Germany, Italy, and the UK, spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Heorhii Tykhyi confirmed. First Deputy FM Serhiy Kyslytsya and delegate Oleksandr Bevz attended. Positions were aligned ahead of today’s talks with Russia.

Chelburda, occupied Kherson region: Russian forces engaged in reckless driving with military vehicles, resulting in collisions.

🇹🇷 Rumor: Turkish officials reportedly required journalists covering the Russia-Ukraine talks to hand over their mobile phones for safekeeping.

🔔 Second round of Russia-Ukraine talks in Istanbul is about to start. Ukraine has already submitted its memorandum, while Russia remains vague and insists on discussing its memorandum behind closed doors.

🇩🇪 Annalena Baerbock to become President of the UN General Assembly on June 2, 2025, with ambitions to reform the organization. She aims to reduce redundancies, increase transparency, and strengthen the Assembly's role in selecting the UN Secretary-General. Russia, Belarus, and Serbia oppose her election, citing alleged bias.

🇩🇰 Danish PM Frederiksen: Ukraine's strikes on Russian airbases show it's successfully defending itself.

“Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and that sometimes includes counterattacks — which seem to have been effective.”

Bad days for Russian aviation. Russian aviation related channel Fighterbomber confirms: a massive drone strike hit the airbase in Borisoglebsk (Russia) overnight. Russia has confirmed casualties among personnel — fatalities are reported.

In St. Petersburg, a fire broke out at the local paint factory "Pigment." Residents reported hearing explosions prior to the blaze. Authorities have not yet commented on the cause.

Overnight drone strike targeted the Borisoglebsk Aviation Training Center in Voronezh region (Russia). Preliminary reports according to Russian channels say two military personnel were killed.