A low-ranking Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul for peace talks with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday, while a Ukrainian delegation led by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and including Defence Minister Rustem Umerov,

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Turkey for direct talks with Russia. But the Kremlin sent a lower-level delegation that doesn't include President Vladimir Putin.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough remained dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.