A low-level Russian team has been dispatched to Istanbul, but direct talks with Ukraine are still uncertain.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.

Vladimir Putin has greatly reduced his public appearances and has not been seen since the end of March, with the Russian despot now unlikely to meet Volodymyr Zelensky in Turkey this week