Russia and Ukraine have concluded a third round of direct negotiations in Istanbul on July 23, agreeing to another large POW swap and including civilians in future prisoner exchanges for the first time, a source familiar with the talks told TASS. However, as expected, no progress was made on the larger substantive issues of halting hostilities in Ukraine or organising a meeting between the presidents of Russia and Ukraine.

The meeting held at the Ciragan Palace in Istanbul was shorter than the last meeting in Istanbul on June 3, lasting only 40 minutes, and was a proforma attempt at reducing tensions. While the diplomats talked, both Moscow and Kyiv continued to launch long-range missile and drone attacks on each other's territory.

While no major breakthrough was reported, both sides agreed to implement previously discussed measures before deciding on a fourth round of talks, TASS reports.

Medinsky's statements made clear Putin’s position has not changed: a ceasefire without conditions is impossible, and Russia will cease fire only when it reaches fundamental agreements on the "post-war structure".

Head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak discussed with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the need for a meeting at the level of the leaders of Ukraine, the United States and the Russian Federation.

"We also talked about the need for a meeting at the level of state leaders - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, US and Turkish leaders Donald Trump and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Russian President Putin to move on to real negotiations to end the war," Yermak wrote on his Telegram channel on July 23.

This was the first peace talks in seven weeks as clock ticks on Trump sanctions ultimatum that is due expire in two months. According to Turkish media TRT Haber, the discussions were delayed by more than an hour and conducted entirely in Russian – previously the Ukrainian side had refused to speak Russian and demanded a Ukrainian interpreter.

The Kremlin played down expectations of any breakthrough at the meeting, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this week should focus in part on preparing a summit between himself and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"Naturally, no one expects an easy road. Naturally, this will be a very difficult conversation. The projects (of the two sides) are diametrically opposed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters ahead of the meeting.

The session followed a one-on-one meeting between the leader of the Russian delegation, Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky, and Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council Secretary and former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. Medinsky is a historian and cultural expert, not a regular diplomat, but has led the talks since the beginning, since the original failed 2022 Istanbul peace deal.

“There will be no continuation of the third round of Russia-Ukraine talks,” the source told TASS. “Moscow and Kyiv are expected to make a decision on the fourth round of talks after all new agreements are implemented.”

In a new development, the two parties agreed to extend the scope of future exchanges beyond military personnel to include civilians. The exchange of severely wounded soldiers and the repatriation of bodies have been central to previous rounds.

Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said before the meeting that the parties would review draft memorandums exchanged earlier, focused on resolving the conflict and future exchanges of prisoners of war and deceased combatants. However, he also played down expectations. Reuters reported last week, citing several Kremlin sources, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not prepared to end hostilities even if the Trump administration’s 50-day deadline expires on September 1 with no deal, after which the White House is threatening to impose 100% tariffs and secondary sanctions on Russia’s trade partners.

The Ukrainian delegation expanded ahead of the meeting, now comprising 14 members, including a representative of the country’s human rights commissioner and an official from the armed forces’ General Staff.

The Russian delegation remained unchanged from the previous round, with four main delegates and four expert advisers. The Russian delegation included Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Igor Kostyukov and Deputy Defence Minister Alexander Fomin.

Prior to the talks, Ukrainian officials met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss defence cooperation, who has been trying to play the role of mediator in the talks. Additional meetings were held with Akif Cagatay Kilic, senior advisor to Erdogan, and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, according to Andrey Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office.

The previous rounds, held on May 16 and June 2, led to a large-scale 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner swap and initial agreements on humanitarian cooperation. The third round has broadened these efforts, though no further meeting has yet been scheduled.

The talks come as Ukraine is losing ground on the battlefield. In the last month the Armed Forces of Russia (AFR) has taken full control of the Luhansk region in the Donbas on July 1 for the first time since the invasion started. At the weekend the key logistical city of Pokrovsk fell to Russian forces on July 22, according to reports. While Ukraine continues to  hold its own in the drone war, Russia is rapidly pulling ahead in the missile war that escalated in May with a devastating missile barrage that targeted Kyiv.

On the night of July 24, a few hours after another fruitless round of Russian-Ukrainian negotiations in Istanbul, the parties exchanged massive strikes. Ukraine attacked an oil depot in the Krasnodar region with drones, and Russia attacked Odessa and the legendary Privoz market.