Sun Jun 01 13:13:40 UTC 2025: ## News Article: Ukraine and Russia to Resume Peace Talks Amidst Escalating Conflict

**Kyiv, Ukraine – June 1, 2025** – Despite a weekend marred by heavy fighting, including a deadly missile strike and the largest drone assault of the war, Ukraine will send a delegation led by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to Istanbul on Monday, June 2, 2025, for another round of direct peace talks with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced.

The announcement comes as Russia continues its offensive, launching a record 472 drones and seven missiles over Ukraine on Sunday. A Russian missile strike on an army training unit resulted in the death of 12 Ukrainian service members and injured over 60. Ukrainian officials have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the attack.

“We are doing everything to protect our independence, our state and our people,” Zelenskyy said in a Telegram statement.

Simultaneously, Ukrainian forces have reportedly conducted drone strikes deep within Russian territory, including the Siberian region of Irkutsk, marking the first time a Ukrainian drone has been sighted in the area. Other strikes were reported in the Ryazan and Murmansk regions.

Meanwhile, Russia claims to have seized control of the village of Oleksiivka in the Sumy region, prompting mandatory evacuations in surrounding settlements. Ukrainian military officials acknowledge that Russian forces are focusing their offensive efforts on Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Lyman in the Donetsk region, as well as the Sumy border area.

While the resumption of peace talks offers a glimmer of hope, the ongoing hostilities underscore the deep divide and the challenges in achieving a lasting resolution to the conflict.

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