A planned exchange of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war failed to take place on Saturday, with Moscow accusing Kyiv of postponing the swap at the last minute, which Ukrainian officials dismissed as more “dirty games” from the Kremlin.

Ukraine has unexpectedly postponed exchanging prisoners of war and accepting the bodies of killed soldiers for an indefinite period, Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky said on Saturday.Russia and Ukraine held the second round of peace talks in Istanbul on Monday where they agreed to exchange more prisoners - focusing on the youngest and most severely wounded - and to return the bodies of 12,

Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv, killing four and injuring dozens. President Zelenskyy condemned the violence and appealed for urgent air defense assistance.

But halting progress, ever-more deadly drone attacks and unmoving negotiating positions seem to have taken their toll. On Thursday, Trump used a striking analogy to concede the warfare was nowhere near over, and that he did not, at that moment, feel it was best to intervene.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would sit down with Russian officials at the second round of peace talks on Monday.

President Donald Trump says it might be better to let Ukraine and Russia “fight for a while” before pulling them apart and pursuing peace.

Military analysts predict that Russia will increase the tempo of its operations in a summer offensive to increase pressure on Ukraine, but note that Moscow could struggle to keep up the pace into 2026. Russia shows no intention of wrapping up the war any time soon.

During a visit by the German leader, President Trump essentially threw up his hands, saying that there was nothing the United States could do right now to end the war.

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met in Turkey for their second round of direct peace talks in just over two weeks.

After Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian air bases, the two sides talked for about an hour in Istanbul, and a halt to the fighting seems out of reach for now.

Ukraine has struck a Russian train carrying military equipment, destroying 13 tanks and more than 100 armored vehicles The Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine posted about the Saturday attack, along with multiple others, on social media.