Moscow says it's ready for Ukraine talks on Monday in Istanbul

 Moscow has proposed further direct talks with Kiev on a possible ceasefire in the Ukraine war this Monday in Istanbul.

The Russian delegation is ready to present a memorandum to the Ukrainian team there and provide "necessary explanations" about it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted by the Russian state news agency TASS as saying on Wednesday.

He said his country has prepared a memorandum outlining its position on "all aspects of a reliable overcoming of the root causes of the crisis."

The Russian negotiator at the first direct negotiations between Moscow and Kiev in mid-May in Istanbul, Vladimir Medinsky, wrote earlier on Telegram about a phone call with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov.

He said he had proposed a specific date and location for a meeting to exchange memoranda. Russia is ready on site to begin a discussion on every point of the agreement for a possible ceasefire, he added.

Umerov wrote on X that Ukraine expects the memorandum to be transmitted without delay. "We are not against further meetings with the Russians and are waiting for their 'memorandum' so that the meeting does not end in vain and truly brings us closer to ending the war."

He said the Russian side has at least four more days before their departure to provide Kiev with the document for assessment. The meetings must yield results, so they need to be well-prepared, he said. Umerov accused Moscow of further delays and reiterated Ukraine's readiness for a complete and unconditional ceasefire.

Moscow and Kiev held direct negotiations in mid-May in Istanbul for the first time since 2022. The only result was the exchange of 1,000 prisoners each. Ukraine has been defending itself for more than three years with Western assistance against the full-scale Russian invasion.

Kiev has accepted the US proposal of a 30-day ceasefire as a starting point for negotiations. Moscow continues to reject this and, despite all declarations of a desire for peace, ultimately sticks to its maximum demands: Ukraine should be disarmed and practically brought back under Russian control.

Trump: Sanctions on Russia would harm Ukraine war 'deal'

US President Donald Trump is hesitant about imposing new sanctions on Russia, but at the same time, he has set an ultimatum for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We're going to find out whether or not he's tapping us along or not - and if he is, will respond a little bit differently," Trump said during a press appearance at the White House on Wednesday when asked. He said he could not say whether Putin actually wanted to end the war: "Within two weeks, we're going to find out very soon," he said.

When asked what was stopping him from imposing new sanctions on Russia, Trump said, "Only the fact that if I think I'm close to getting a deal, I don't want to screw it up by doing that."

"I'm very disappointed at what happened a couple of nights now where people were killed in the middle of what you would call a negotiation. I'm very disappointed by that. Very, very disappointed.

very disappointed about that. Very, very disappointed," said Trump.

Trump then accused Putin on his platform Truth Social of playing with fire. When asked what consequences he was considering if the Russian leader continued not to relent, Trump replied, "Well, I'm not going to tell you exactly, but the words speak pretty loud, we're not, we're not happy about that situation."

Zelensky: 50,000 Russian soldiers atborder near Sumy

Russia has amassed approximately 50,000 soldiers for a potential advance into Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in remarks published on Wednesday by state news agency Ukrinform.

The Ukrainian army was attempting to avert an attack through its actions in the neighbouring Russian region of Kursk, Zelensky added during a press conference on Tuesday; The remarks were only released by Ukrainian media on Wednesday, as he was en route to Berlin.

The aim of a Russian advance on Sumy could be to establish a buffer zone on the Ukrainian side, Zelensky speculated. However, he said Russia would miss these soldiers in other parts of the front, such as near Pokrovsk in the Donbass region.

To date, the Kremlin has not laid any claims to Sumy, unlike other occupied Ukrainian territories.

Recently, however, Putin spoke in jest about the occupation of Sumy, during a meeting with regional and local officials in Kursk.

Eight injured in Russian drone attacks

Meanwhile, on the ground in Ukraine eight people were injured near the city of Kharkiv in overnight Russian drone attacks, regional authorities said.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russian forces also launched five Iskander-M ballistic missiles, but the consequences remained initially unclear.

Russian drone factories reportedly hit

Meanwhile two drone factories near Moscow have been hit in a large-scale Ukrainian drone attack, local media reported on Wednesday.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said one of the targets was located in the city of Zelenograd, just to the north-west of the capital.

There were initially no reports of casualties or serious damage, he posted on Telegram.

Russian Telegram channels further reported that a drone factory had been hit in the city of Dubna, some 80 kilometres north of Moscow.

The Russian Defence Ministry said 296 Ukrainian drones had been intercepted over Russian territory overnight.

It was not possible to independently verify the figures, but they suggest a large-scale attack.

Operations at several airports in Moscow and in other cities were temporarily halted due to the drone attacks.