Russians are spreading lies about the timing of the talks in Istanbul

This was reported by the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko.

On the morning of May 15, some Russian media outlets wrote that negotiations between Ukraine and the Russian Federation in Istanbul would allegedly begin at 10:00 a.m.

However, the head of the Central Precinct emphasizes that this is a fake, and such a time was not planned.

The Russians are spreading lies in the media about "the start of talks in Turkey" at 10 a.m. Moscow time. This is not true. This time was not planned.

He did not rule out that the Russians want to manipulate the topic of negotiations, as Russian propagandists are spreading information with the narrative that supposedly "everyone needs negotiations except Ukraine."

In fact, the only one who doesn't need a movement towards peace is Russia, which is avoiding a 30-day ceasefire and normal dialogue in every way, and is also spreading such lies.

Pro-Kremlin media reported that the Russian delegation arrived in Istanbul on the morning of May 15.

Russia has long been tight-lipped about who it will send to the talks in Turkey. Late on the evening of May 14, the Kremlin confirmed the composition of the delegation of negotiators, but Putin was not among them. The Russian delegation is headed by Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to the Russian dictator who was at the talks with Ukraine in 2022.