Ukraine, Russia hold second round of peace talks in Turkey after series of intense attacks, ‘Spider Web’

Russia and Ukraine delegations met in Turkey on Monday for their second round of direct peace talks, after the series of intense attacks over the weekend.

The meeting between the two delegations lasted over an hour.

"The meeting is over. It didn't end negatively," ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said of the talks at Istanbul's Ciragan Palace, reported AFP.

Ukraine's delegation was led by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, while Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, headed the Russian side, according to official reports.

The first round of talks, held on May 16, also in Istanbul, ended after less than two hours. While both sides had agreed on a large prisoner swap, there was no breakthrough.

Attacks over the weekend; ‘Spider Web’

Ukraine, on Sunday — in an unprecedented strike codenamed ‘Spider Web’ allegedly overseen by President Zelensky — struck deep inside Russian territory, attacking four airfields.

Zelenskyy said 117 drones were used in the operation in which four military airfields were attacked resulting in the severe damage or destruction of 34% of Russia’s fleet of air missile carriers, reported AP.

Russian Tu-95 aircraft, others damaged

Russian aircraft including the Tu-95 and Tu-22 M3 long-range bombers capable of deploying conventional and nuclear weapons as well as the A-50, are reported to have been damaged after Ukraine's drone attack, added Reuters.

Among the most striking targets was Belaya air base in the Siberian region of Irkutsk — over 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles) away from Ukraine.

Russia’s Defense Ministry in a statement confirmed the attacks, saying they damaged aircraft and sparked fires on air bases in the Irkutsk region, as well as the Murmansk region in the north. It said strikes were also repelled in the Amur region in Russia’s Far East and in the western regions of Ivanovo and Ryazan, AFP reported, citing the Russian Ministry.