MOSCOW, RUSSIA | Xinhua | After a brief third round of talks in Istanbul on Wednesday, hopes for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine remain, unsurprisingly, as frail as ever. During the 40-minute talks,

Ukraine and Russia attacked targets on each other's territory on Thursday after brief direct talks between the two sides failed to make any progress on steps to end nearly three-and-a-half years of war.

The warring sides remain far apart after the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations on Wednesday. But there was progress on humanitarian issues.