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Russian Delegate Claimed “War Is Just Russians Killing Russians” During Istanbul Talks, Ukrainian Diplomat Says

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Vlad Litnarovych
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Russian Delegate Claimed “War Is Just Russians Killing Russians” During Istanbul Talks, Ukrainian Diplomat Says
Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky speaks to reporters with other members of a Russian delegation ahead of a planned meeting between Ukrainian, American, and Russian delegates on May 15, 2025, in Istanbul, Turkey. (Source: Getty Images)

Russian negotiators resorted to a steady stream of threats, inflammatory rhetoric, and morally outrageous statements during talks with Ukraine in Istanbul, stated Sergiy Kyslytsia, Ukraine’s First Deputy Foreign Minister and a member of the Ukrainian delegation, according to Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda on May 24.

Speaking in an interview on national TV, Kyslytsia described the May 16 discussions as “almost nonstop trash talk” marked by intimidation and historical revisionism.

“The amount of threats, cynicism, and immoral declarations was nearly constant,” he said.

Among the most disturbing moments, he recalled, was a statement from the head of the Russian delegation, Vladimir Medinsky.

“At one point, the head of the Russian delegation said… ‘In essence, war is when Russians kill Russians—with certain nuances,’” Kyslytsia recounted.

“Essentially, they were denying our existence as a nation. They looked us in the eye and said: ‘You are not Ukrainian. You are Russian. We are simply killing you. Russians are killing Russians.’”

Kyslytsia added that Russian delegates repeatedly made provocative and absurd claims throughout the meeting.

“You’ve heard about the pseudo-historical lectures, the talk that ‘today we demand four regions, tomorrow it will be six or eight.’ One of them even said that ‘some members of this delegation may lose more relatives,’” he said.

According to Kyslytsia, the Russian side opened the meeting by declaring they did not have a mandate to negotiate in the presence of American representatives.

The talks were hosted in Istanbul. While the Turkish side attended as observers, they did not take part in the negotiations themselves.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha stated that Russia’s current strategy in peace negotiations appears focused on pushing the United States out of the process.

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