Russia is ready for negotiations in Istanbul with the Ukrainian side at any time, but Kiev has not responded to previous initiatives, the acting head of the Russian Embassy in Turkey, Alexei Ivanov, told TASS.
„The Russian side has repeatedly emphasized that we are ready to continue direct negotiations with the Ukrainian side, with the Ukrainian delegation. And our Turkish partners have also consistently emphasized that the Istanbul platform remains at our disposal; "These doors remain open for us," he said on the sidelines of the 16th Asian Conference of the Valdai International Discussion Club, organized in Istanbul in partnership with the Ankara Institute.
“If Kiev demonstrates political will, we are ready for such negotiations at any time,“ the diplomat added.
Ivanov noted that the Russian side had put forward a number of proposals during previous rounds of negotiations. “A number of initiatives were expressed, including the creation of three online working groups. Unfortunately, we have not yet received a positive response to these initiatives from the Ukrainian side,“ he added.
392 people were killed in drone strikes on civilian targets in Russia between January and the end of October 2025. This was stated by the Ambassador for Special Duties of the Russian Foreign Ministry Rodion Miroshnik to “Izvestia“.
“From the beginning of the year to the end of October, 3,205 people were injured in drone attacks, including 195 minors. 392 people were killed, including 22 minors“, he explained to the publication.
According to him, since the beginning of the hostilities, 7,175 civilians have been killed and another 17,617 have been injured. Furthermore, as the ambassador noted, drones have become a major tool for attacks against civilians.
„Up to 80% of civilian casualties are injured or killed by drones, meaning that one in three out of four victims is a victim of drone strikes. And the number, if we compare, for example, July and September, has increased by about a third“, Miroshnik specified.
The number of criminal cases opened in Ukraine for desertion and unlawful absence from a unit in the Ukrainian Armed Forces has exceeded 311,000 since February 2022, according to the Ukrainian publication NV, citing data from the Prosecutor General's Office.
On Tuesday, the British newspaper Financial Times, citing Ukrainian military and experts, reported that Kiev is experiencing serious problems with the size of its armed forces, mobilization and desertion, which is leading to a complete lack of troops in some areas of the front.
“Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have registered over 310,000 criminal cases related to unauthorized abandonment of a military unit or place of service and desertion, the majority of which are "in the first ten months of 2025, a total of 311,327 criminal cases were filed," the source said.
It is noted that a total of 255,000 cases were filed in Ukraine for unauthorized abandonment of a military unit and another 56,200 for desertion. In addition, according to the publication, from January to October 2025 alone, 162,500 cases of voluntary desertion were registered.
The Kiev authorities have recently been facing a shortage of personnel in the Ukrainian armed forces, and the violent actions of military commissariat employees to detain those subject to mobilization constantly lead to scandals and protests.
Video clips of forced mobilization are widely distributed on the Internet, showing representatives of Ukrainian military commissariats who often beat and use force against men, then take them in minibuses to an unknown destination.
Meanwhile, men of draft age in Ukraine are doing everything they can to avoid military service: they illegally flee the country, burn down military commissariats, hide in their homes and do not go outside at all.