President Volodymyr Zelensky approved the composition of the delegation for the next round of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Turkey.
The corresponding decree No. 539 was published on the website of the head of state.
The meeting of the parties is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, July 23, in Istanbul. The delegation includes 14 representatives from the Office of the President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Armed Forces, the Security Service (SBU), and the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR). The delegation will be headed by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Rustem Umerov. Full list is following:
- Advisor to the Head of the Presidentʼs Office — Oleksandr Bevz;
- Deputy Chief of Staff of the Naval Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Oleksandr Dyakov;
- First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine — Serhiy Kyslytsia;
- representative of the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights in the system of security and defense sector bodies — Yuriy Kovbasa (with consent);
- Protocol Officer of the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Office of the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces — Heorhii Kuzmychov;
- First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service — Oleh Luhovsky;
- Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Yevhen Ostryansky;
- Deputy Head of SBU — Oleksandr Poklad;
- Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense — Vadym Skibitsky;
- Head of the International Law Department — Deputy Head of the International and Operational Law Department of the Central Legal Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Andriy Fomin;
- Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine —Oleksiy Shevchenko;
- Senior Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Oleksandr Sherikhov;
- Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Yevhen Shynkarev.
Negotiations between Ukraine and Russia
On May 16, 2025, the first direct talks between Ukraine and Russia since 2022 were held in Istanbul. The meeting lasted a little over an hour. According to journalists, Russia demanded the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from a number of territories to ensure a ceasefire and threatened to occupy the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov reported that at the meeting, the Ukrainian and Russian sides discussed a prisoner exchange in the "1000 for 1000" format and a ceasefire. The parties reached an agreement on the exchange — three prisoner exchanges in this format have already taken place.
On May 19, Trump spoke with Putin, as well as with Zelensky and a number of European leaders. Putin said after the conversation that he was ready to work on a memorandum with Ukraine that includes a ceasefire. Trump says that Russia and Ukraine “will immediately begin negotiations on a ceasefire and, more importantly, an end to the war”.
A large exchange in several stages was agreed upon at negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul on June 2. It was there that the parties decided to focus on exchanges in the "all-for-all" format by categories: seriously wounded and seriously ill, and young people aged 18 to 25.
Several stages of prisoner exchanges in this format have already taken place — June 9, 10, 12,14, 19, 20, 26, and July 4.
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