On May 15, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky approved a new delegation for upcoming negotiations with the Russian Federation in Istanbul aimed at achieving lasting peace.

According to decree No. 306/2025 published on the President's Office website, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will lead the delegation. The team will also include:

  • Serhiy Kyslytsia – First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs;
  • Oleksandr Poklad – Deputy Head of the Security Service;
  • Oleg Lugovskyi – First Deputy Head of the Foreign Intelligence Service;
  • Oleksii Shevchenko – Deputy Chief of the General Staff;
  • Vadym Skibitskyi – Deputy Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate;
  • Yevhen Shinkarov – Deputy Chief of the Air Force Command;
  • Oleksandr Diakov – Deputy Chief of the Naval Forces Command;
  • Oleksii Malovatskyi – Chief of the International and Operational Law Department;
  • Oleksandr Sherikhov – Senior Officer of the Main Operational Directorate;
  • Heorhii Kuzmychov – Protocol Officer;
  • Oleksandr Bevz – Advisor to the President's Office.

The decree also allows the head of the delegation to make changes with the President's consent and approves confidential negotiation directives.

It is worth noting that President Zelensky traveled to Ankara, anticipating the arrival of Vladimir Putin.

However, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin will not attend the negotiations in Istanbul. Instead, Russia has sent a lower-level delegation led by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky.

In light of this, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sees little chance of a breakthrough in the negotiations between the Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul.