After Ukraine’s drone strikes on Russian air bases, the two sides talked for less than an hour in Istanbul and a halt to the fighting seems out of reach for now.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was sending a Ukrainian delegation to Istanbul for another face-to-face with Russian representatives.

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

On Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelensky listed Ukraine’s positions for the talks that included a complete and unconditional ceasefire, the release of prisoners and the return of abducted children. Russia, so far, has rejected calls for an unconditional ceasefire and repeatedly made demands that have already been rejected by Ukraine.

This appears to be the first confirmation that one of the Sky Sentinels had downed up to six exploding drones. Ukraine previously said that the turret had been successfully tested, including on the front lines.

The drone strikes on Russian air force bases weaken Moscow’s ability to wage war on its neighbor and undermine its capacity to threaten more distant rivals.

Ukraine has carried out large-scale drone strikes against four airbases deep inside Russia, destroying multiple combat planes, according to a source in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).