Just as their forces are stalemated on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky are in a rhetorical standoff over preconditions for peace talks. Putin offered to begin talks Thursday in Istanbul under the auspices of Turkey with no preconditions,

Zelensky appealed to Trump on X Monday, asking him for his full support and potentially a visit to Turkey to discuss a possible cease-fire deal.

Russian despot Vladimir Putin is unlikely to show up for peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday as the Kremlin makes the world wait on whether it is prepared to get round the table for talks on ending its war with Ukraine.