'The Whole World Is Waiting'

The first face-to-face talks between Russian and Ukrainian diplomats in more than two weeks was underway Tuesday morning in Turkey, though expectations of a major breakthrough were small. "The whole world is waiting ... for good news from you," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he opened the talks in Istanbul, reports the Washington Post. The two sides did not exchange handshakes in what Ukrainian media described as a "cold welcome," per Reuters. Still, the latter outlet describes the very existence of the negotiations as an "important first step" toward a potential ceasefire. A counter to that: British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she thought Vladimir Putin was “not serious about talks," per the AP.

In its coverage, the New York Times sees this as a "critical moment" in the war, because even though Ukrainian forces have had success on the battlefield, Russian troops "continue to try to cut off eastern Ukraine and are exacerbating a humanitarian disaster with attacks against critical infrastructure across the country." In his video address to the nation Monday night, Ukraine President President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian troops had retaken the key suburb of Irpin, northwest of Kviv, but that Russia was regrouping for a counterattack. “We still have to fight, we have to endure,” Zelensky said. “This is a ruthless war." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)