ISTANBUL, TURKEY - Ukrainian, American and Russian delegates meet for peace talks at the office of Turkish President in Dolmabahce Palace. Getty Images

Russian drone strikes continued in Ukraine, killing nine people, officials said, as the Vatican renewed its offer to help the two sides in efforts to reach a peace agreement.

The strikes – and renewed offer from the Vatican – come hours after Moscow and Kyiv had held their first direct peace talks in years that failed to yield a ceasefire. Russian and Ukrainian officials met Friday in Istanbul in an attempt to reach a temporary ceasefire, but the talks ended after less than two hours without a breakthrough - as they remained far apart on key conditions for ending the fighting and Putin was a no-show.

President Trump said on social media Saturday that he plans to speak to Putin on Monday. "The subjects of the call will be, stopping the 'bloodbath" that is killing, on average, more than 5000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers a week, and trade," Mr. Trump wrote in all capital letters, adding he would speak to President Zelenskyy and members of NATO after his call with Putin.

It was the first face-to-face dialogue between the two sides since the early weeks of Moscow's February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The "bloodbath" continues
Zelenskyy said he had discussed the outcome of the Istanbul talks with U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of France, Germany, Britain and Poland.

On Saturday, the bloodbath continued, as Ukrainian officials said a Russian drone hit a bus evacuating civilians from a front-line area in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region, killing nine people.

Seven people were also injured in the attack in Bilopillia, a town around 6 miles from Russia's border, three of them seriously, according to local Gov. Oleh Hryhorov and Ukraine's national police. The Associated Press couldn't independently verify the report. There was no comment from Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as "deliberate killing of civilians," adding in a post on Telegram messaging app that "Russians could scarcely not realize what kind of vehicle they were hitting."

He lamented the missed opportunity from Friday's peace talks, saying that "Ukraine has long proposed this - a full and unconditional ceasefire in order to save lives."

"Russia only retains the ability to continue killing," Zelenskyy added.

Vatican renews offer to help
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, repeated the Vatican's offer to serve as a venue for direct talks, saying the failure of negotiations in Istanbul to reach a ceasefire this week was "tragic."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was in Rome on Saturday and he told reporters before meeting with Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Vatican point man on Ukraine, he would be discussing potential ways the Vatican could help.

Asked if the Vatican could be a peace broker, Rubio replied: "I wouldn't call it broker, but it's certainly - I think it's a place that both sides would be comfortable going."

"So we'll talk about all of that and obviously always grateful to the Vatican for their willingness to play this constructive and positive role," said Rubio, who also met Saturday with the Vatican secretary of state and foreign minister.

Spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a statement that Secretary Rubio met with the Cardinal to discuss the urgent need to end the Russia-Ukraine war.? "He emphasized the importance of continued collaboration under the new leadership of Pope Leo XIV," the statement said.

Leo, who was elected history's first American pope on May 8, took up Francis' call for peace in Ukraine in his first Sunday noon blessing as pope. He appealed for all sides to do whatever possible to reach "an authentic, just and lasting peace."

As a bishop in Peru, Leo had called Russia's war an "imperialist invasion," vowed this week personally to "make every effort so that this peace may prevail."

In a speech to eastern rite Catholics, including the Greek Catholic Church of Ukraine, Leo begged warring sides to meet and negotiate.

"The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace," he said.


SUMY, UKRAINE - MAY 17: Emergency officers carry out rescue operations after a Russian strike on a van in the Bilopillia city of Sumy Oblast resulted in the death of at least nine civilians and the injury of seven others. State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Anadolu via Getty Images

Source