On May 15, President Volodymyr Zelensky officially approved a new Ukrainian delegation to participate in peace negotiations with the Russian Federation, set to take place in Istanbul.
This is confirmed by decree No. 306/2025 published on the President's Office website.
As previously announced, the delegation will be led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov. The delegation includes:
- Serhiy Kyslytsia – First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- Oleksandr Poklad – Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine;
- Oleh Luhovskyi – First Deputy Head of Foreign Intelligence;
- Olexiy Shevchenko – Deputy Chief of General Staff;
- Vadym Skibitskyi – Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate;
- Yevhen Shynkarov – Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force;
- Oleksandr Dyakov – Deputy Chief of Staff of the Navy;
- Olexiy Malovatskyi – Head 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 Head of the President's Office.
The decree also gives the head of the delegation the authority to make adjustments to its composition and approve confidential negotiation directives.
It is worth noting that President Zelensky has traveled to Ankara in anticipation of a meeting with Vladimir Putin.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin will not be going to Istanbul for talks with the Ukrainian delegation, while Russia has sent a low-level delegation led by Putin's aide Vladimir Medinsky.
In light of this, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio does not see any chances for breakthrough in the negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul.
