内容摘要：In a statement, Retailleau expressed “my determination to put a stop to these unbearable attacks.”

In a statement, Retailleau expressed “my determination to put a stop to these unbearable attacks.”

Zelenskyy said he decided to send the delegation to Istanbul to demonstrate tothat Ukraine wants to end the fighting.

The war has killed tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides and more than 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the U.N. Russian forces are preparing, Ukrainian government and Western military analysts say.At least five civilians were killed and 29 wounded in the past day, according to authorities in five eastern regions of Ukraine where Russia is trying to advance.

The head of the Russian delegation, presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky, said in Istanbul that the representatives were ready to meet Ukrainian officials.“The task of these direct negotiations with Ukraine is to establish long-term peace sooner or later by eliminating the root causes of this conflict,” he said in a brief statement.

It was not clear when they would meet. Medinsky said late Thursday that the Russian delegation would be waiting for Ukrainian officials at 10 a.m. Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he would confer Friday in Istanbul with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the Ukrainian delegation, adding that the Russian delegation would be meeting with other members of the U.S. team and that he hoped all sides could get together.New government procurement guidelines launched in April urge the use of New Zealand wool products — such as carpets and insulation — in newly constructed or refurbished public buildings. But those measures are not expected to halt declining sheep numbers.

Some sheep-farming countries are recording similar trends. New Zealand’s closest neighbor Australia — the source of most of the sheep jokes about New Zealanders — is also home to more sheep than people, but the national flock is shrinking there too.The gap is slimmer: There are about three sheep per Australian.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said Wednesday he would try to urge Russian President Vladimir Putin to attendthis week with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy, amid suspense over whether Putin would take part in the proposed meeting in Turkey.