ISTANBUL (AP) — Delegations from Russia and Ukraine met Monday in Turkey for their second round of direct peace talks in just over two weeks, although expectations were low for any significant progress on ending the3-year-old war after a string of stunning attacks over the weekend.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Istanbul today for the latest round of peace talks. Both countries are trying to get the upper hand militarily ahead of possible negotiations.

The strikes help Kyiv "negotiate from a position of strength," Oleksandr Merezhko, the head of Ukraine's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told Newsweek.

Dozens of Russian military aircraft have been destroyed in an unprecedented drone attack deep inside Russia, a Ukrainian official has said, the day before critical peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv resume in Istanbul.