Even if Putin and Zelenskyy do go face-to-face, don’t expect wonders − their one meeting in 2019 ended in failure

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrive at the Elysee Palace in Paris in 2019. Ian Langsdon/Pool Photo via AP

Delegations from Ukraine and Russia met for a second time in Istanbul in a month on June 2, 2025. Missing, again, were the country’s two leaders.

For a fleeting moment ahead of the first meeting in mid-May 2025, there existed the faintest prospect that Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine would join, sitting down in the same room for face-to-face talks.