War does not wait for meetings
As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed in Istanbul for a crucial diplomatic round, missiles fell at home. Authorities from both sides confirmed this Saturday an exchange of nighttime attacks that left at least 10 people dead and dozens injured.
The violence came just as Zelenskyy was preparing to sit down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Patriarch Bartholomew. A brutal contrast between the negotiating table and the reality on the front.
“We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure real protection of lives,” Zelenskyy declared on Telegram after arriving.
But words ring hollow when the sirens don’t stop sounding. The meeting seeks to strengthen Ukraine-Türkiye cooperation in the midst of an escalation that no one is hiding anymore. Erdogan, that eternal tightrope walker between the West and Moscow, is once again a key player.
While leaders talk about “stability,” Ukrainian hospitals fill up. The impact on the civilian population is increasingly stark: families destroyed, infrastructure shattered and humanitarian aid that never arrives enough.
I’ve seen it before. Diplomacy advances in small steps, but war runs. Zelenskyy knows he needs more than promises—he needs tangible results before the next casualty report hits his desk.
The question now is whether Türkiye, with its own interests at stake, will really make a move or if this will be another chapter in the book of good intentions. History will judge by the facts, not by the statements.
