Moscow on Wednesday said it would send a delegation to Istanbul to meet with Ukrainian officials, bringing the two at-war countries together for direct talks.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in the early hours of Sunday proposed direct negotiations in Turkey on Thursday "without any preconditions," but he did not say who would attend from Moscow's side. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said he would attend the talks with Russia only if Putin is also there.