Hopes for a meaningful breakthrough are limited as talks begin in Istanbul without Putin or Zelenskyy attending

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Russian and Ukrainian officials opened direct peace talks in Istanbul on Friday – without Vladimir Putin or Volodomyr Zelenskyy – for the first time in more than three years, but hopes for any meaningful breakthrough are limited.

Images from the meeting held at the Dolmabahce Palace were stark: a row of Russian delegates in dark suits and opposite them Ukrainians wearing their trademark green camouflage combat fatigues.