The world is holding its breath ahead of mooted peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul on Thursday. But what are the discussions likely to look like, and crucially who will attend?

With Donald Trump on a tour of the Gulf nations, the White House says it plans to send senior representatives to Turkey, while hinting that the US President could yet make a personal appearance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile, has confirmed he will travel to the capital Ankara, and doubled down on his challenge to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet face-to-face.

To decipher all the briefing and counter-briefing, we’re joined in the studio by the BBC’s diplomatic correspondent James Landale. And Victoria speaks to the Vice President of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas.

Today’s episode is presented by Victoria Derbyshire and Vitaly Shevchenko.

You can join the Ukrainecast discussion on Newscast’s Discord server here: tinyurl.com/ukrainecastdiscord