Who are Russia and Ukraine sending to the first direct diplomatic talks between the two warring countries since the spring of 2022? Just over an hour before Moscow's midnight on May 14, the Kremlin published the names of those who would attend talks proposed last week by President Vladimir Putin.

Russia and Ukraine are set to hold their first direct peace talks in three years, but hopes for a breakthrough remained dim after Russian President Vladimir Putin spurned an offer by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to meet face-to-face in Turkey.