Each side is seeking to call the other’s bluff by demonstrating they alone want peace while the other is the obstacle.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not travel to Turkey for peace talks on the war in Ukraine, despite calls from Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky for him to attend.Russia's delegation at Thursday's talks in Istanbul will instead be headed by presidential aide Vladimir Medinksy,

U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin were still "maybes" for what could be the first direct peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv in years after the Kremlin on Wednesday held off disclosing who would represent Russia.