Expectations are low for the latest US-brokered talks between Russia and Ukraine

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — A Ukrainian delegation was heading to Geneva on Monday for another round of U.S.-brokered talks with Russian officials, ahead of next week’s fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbor.

There was no anticipation of any significant progress on ending the war at the Tuesday-Wednesday meeting in Switzerland as both sides appear to be sticking to their negotiating positions on key issues, despite the United States setting a June deadline to reach a settlement. The future of Ukrainian land that Russia occupies or still covets is a central issue.

Ukrainian defenders remain locked in a war of attrition with Russia’s bigger army along the roughly 1,250-kilometer (750-mile) front line. Ukrainian civilians endure Russian aerial barrages that repeatedly knock out power and smash homes, while Ukraine has developed drones that can fly deep into Russian territory and strike oil refineries and arms depots.

The governor of western Russia’s Bryansk region said Monday that air defenses had shot down 229 Ukrainian drones in the previous 24 hours. No other Russian region has come under as many simultaneous drone attacks in a single day, Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said.

Ukraine’s Air Force, meanwhile, said Russia launched 62 long-range strike drones and six missiles of various types at Ukraine overnight.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday that the talks in Geneva will deal with a “broader range of issues related to the territories and other issues connected to the demands that we have.” He didn’t elaborate on the issues.

A year of peace efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has failed to stop the fighting. Trump, as he flew back to Washington from his home in Florida on Monday evening, told reporters the Russia-Ukraine negotiations on Tuesday in Geneva are going to “big talks.” He added, “Ukraine better come to the table fast.”

Western officials and analysts say Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that time is on his side, that Western support for Ukraine will peter out and that Ukraine’s resistance will eventually collapse under pressure.

Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff, posted a photograph on Telegram showing himself standing next to a train with other members of the negotiating team, which is due to be led in Geneva by Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief.

Entering or leaving Ukraine entails a long overland journey, even for VIPs, as the country’s airspace is closed because of the war.

Putin’s adviser Vladimir Medinsky, who headed Moscow’s team of negotiators in the first direct peace talks with Ukraine in Istanbul in March 2022 and who has forcefully pushed Putin’s war goals, is returning to lead Moscow’s delegation. Medinsky has written several history books that focus on exposing purported Western plots against Russia and denigrate Ukraine.

Igor Kostyukov, the head of Russian military intelligence, and Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin, along with other officials, will also be in the delegation, Kremlin spokesman Peskov said.

Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev will also travel to Geneva for separate talks with the U.S. on economic cooperation, according to Peskov. Moscow and Kyiv are keen to offer future business opportunities to Washington.

It was not clear which American officials would be in Geneva. At recent talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the Trump administration was represented by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The Russian and Ukrainian delegations were to report back to their leaders before any possible compromises discussed in Geneva could be accepted.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026, shows a Russian serviceman launches an Orlan-10 reconnaissance drone tfor an action in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, greets Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse D-R.I. and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct., center, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

In this image made from video provided by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, Russian Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, second right, speaks while inspecting the troops involved in the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addresses the audience during a session at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

One U.S. service member was rescued and at least one was missing after Iran shot down two U.S. military planes in separate attacks in a dramatic escalation in the war began nearly five weeks ago.

It was the first time U.S. aircraft have been downed in the conflict and came just two days after President Donald Trump said in a national address that the U.S. has “beaten and completely decimated Iran.”

One fighter jet was shot down in Iran, officials said. A U.S. crew member from that plane was rescued, but a second was missing, and a U.S. military search-and-rescue operation was underway.

Separately, Iranian state media said a U.S. A-10 attack aircraft crashed in the Persian Gulf after being struck by Iranian defense forces. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military situation, said it was not clear if the aircraft crashed or was shot down.

The war now entering its sixth week is destabilizing economies around the world as Iran responds to the U.S. and Israeli attacks by targeting the Gulf region's energy infrastructure and tightening its grip on oil and natural gas shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Here is the latest:

Authorities in Dubai said the facades of two buildings were damaged by debris from intercepted drones, including one belonging to U.S. tech firm Oracle. No injuries were reported.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has threatened to attack Oracle and 17 other U.S. companies after accusing them of being involved in “terrorist espionage” operations in Iran.

Previous Iranian drone strikes caused damage to three Amazon Web Services facilities in the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

As of Friday, 247 of the wounded were Army soldiers, 63 were Navy sailors, 19 were Marines and 36 were Air Force airmen, according to Pentagon data available online.

It is unclear if the data includes any of the service members involved in the downing of two combat aircraft reported Friday.

Most of the wounded — 200 — were also mid to senior enlisted troops, 85 were officers and 80 were junior enlisted service members.

The current death toll remains at 13 service members killed in combat.

Palestinian Muslims attend Friday prayers outside Jerusalem's Old City due to restrictions linked to the Iran war, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean)

Tamara and her sister Amal color pictures on the floor as their parents, Sara and Ahmed, who fled their village of Khiyam in southern Lebanon due to Israeli bombardment, sit inside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Mohammad Qubaisi, 53, with burn wounds from an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon undergoes surgery by Dr. Mohammed Ziara, left, and his team, at the Sidon Government Hospital in Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, April 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

A bridge struck by U.S. airstrikes on Thursday is seen in the town of Karaj, west of Tehran, Iran, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

FILE - An F-15E Strike Eagle turns toward the Panamint range over Death Valley National Park, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben Margot, File)