From: Transform Ukraine By Douglas Landro / June 3, 2025
As Moscow Demands Ukraine’s Capitulation While Kyiv Unleashes “Spiderweb,” the Istanbul Negotiations Reveal the Vast Chasm Between Diplomatic Theater and Battlefield Truth
Summary of the Day – June 3, 2025
The second round of peace talks in Istanbul produced precisely what observers expected: agreements on prisoner exchanges and body retrievals, but no progress toward ending the war. Russia’s memorandum, finally delivered during the June 2 meeting, revealed maximalist demands tantamount to Ukraine’s complete surrender—including recognition of illegal annexations, permanent neutrality, and regime change. Meanwhile, the aftershocks of Ukraine’s devastating “Operation Spiderweb” continued reverberating through Moscow’s military establishment, with satellite imagery confirming the destruction of multiple strategic bombers at Russian airbases thousands of kilometers from Ukraine’s borders. As diplomatic niceties unfolded in Turkey, the battlefield reality remained unchanged: Russian forces killed nine civilians and injured 49 more across Ukraine on June 2 alone, while accelerating their territorial gains to 507 square kilometers in May—the fastest pace since spring 2024. The war’s grinding momentum continued unabated, with Russian advances near Sumy, Lyman, Chasiv Yar, and Toretsk, while Ukrainian forces gained ground near Velyka Novosilka, underscoring that military dynamics—not negotiating tables—continue to dictate the conflict’s trajectory.
The Theater of Impossibility: Russia’s Surrender Terms Disguised as Peace
Ukrainian and Russian delegations met in Istanbul for roughly one hour, reaching only agreements about prisoner exchanges while Russia’s maximalist memorandum revealed demands for Ukraine’s complete capitulation. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov proposed a 90-day ceasefire, release of all POWs, return of abducted children, and leader-level talks between June 20-30, but Russia rejected the ceasefire proposal entirely.
The limited humanitarian progress included an “all for all” exchange of seriously ill and wounded POWs aged 18-25, involving at least 1,000 total prisoners, plus exchange of 6,000 bodies from each side. Russia proposed creating permanent medical commissions for regular wounded POW exchanges and a two-to-three-day localized ceasefire solely to retrieve battlefield corpses.
Voice of Ukraine 