Russian and Ukrainian officials are due to sit down on Monday in the Turkish city of Istanbul for their second round of direct peace talks since 2022, but the two sides are still far apart on how to end the war and the fighting is stepping up.

A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, Ukraine’s Security Service said on Sunday, while Moscow pounded Ukraine with missiles and drones just hours before a new round of direct peace talks in Istanbul.

A Ukrainian drone attack has destroyed more than 40 Russian planes deep in Russia’s territory, a Ukrainian security official told The Associated Press on Sunday, a day before the two sides meet for a new round of direct talks in Istanbul.

Microsoft's Russian subsidiary, Microsoft Rus LLC, intends to declare bankruptcy, as indicated by a notice on Russia's official registry. This action follows President Putin's call to prioritize domestic software and Microsoft's significant reduction of operations in Russia since June 2022.

Ukraine suffered another bombardment of aerial attacks from Russia Friday night into Saturday morning as successful talks toward a peace deal to end the war appear far from happening. There were 114 aerial attacks on Ukraine via drones and missiles overnight,