A Russian drone attack on a bus in northeastern Ukraine killed at least nine people and injured seven others, Ukrainian officials said Saturday, just hours after the two countries met for the first direct peace talk in three years.

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) — Russia and Ukraine held their first direct peace talks in three years Friday, gathering in Istanbul for Turkish-brokered negotiations, but officials and observers expected them to yield little immediate progress on stopping the more than three-year war.

The two sides sat opposite each other at a U-shaped table in the Turkey's Dolmabahce Palace but remained far apart in their conditions for ending the war. Nevertheless, a Russian spokesperson later floated the possibility of Putin and Zelenskyy meeting if negotiations reach "certain agreements.