Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Turkey early Thursday for scheduled peace talks, but Russian President Vladimir Putin did not show up. Zelensky hammered the Russian delegation

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that negotiations between Ukraine and Russia on an unconditional ceasefire can be held in Türkiye at the technical group level, without the participation of the heads of state.

Ukraine had framed Zelensky's demand for a face-to-face meeting with Putin as a test of Russia's true willingness to negotiate peace. Arriving in Turkey, he slammed the Russian delegation as "theatrical" and contrasted it to Ukraine's high-level group.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, but said both leaders are ready to fly to Istanbul if Russian President Vladimir Putin chooses to attend the talks there.

The Russian president had been challenged by Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky to meet in person at the talks on Thursday.