Sky News reports:
Explained: What peace talks have been held so far?
First talks in 2022
The very first peace talks since the war broke out in 2022 were held just days after Moscow's full-scale invasion.
Russian and Ukrainian negotiators met in Belarus. They met again both via video link and in person (Istanbul), while multiple drafts were exchanged until mid-April, but talks broke down thereafter.
There are many articles on the failure of the 2022 peace talks and who was to blame. Most of which do a better job of 'explaining' than this short dismissive paragraph from Sky News, for example:
Responsible Statecraft reported in 2024:
Diplomacy Watch: Did the West scuttle the Istanbul talks or not?
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/ukraine-russia-2669196351/
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett played a large role in those April 2022 negotiations. In an interview, he also claimed that Russia and Ukraine were willing to make major concessions and end the conflict, until pressure from then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson convinced Zelensky to back down from such a deal. Davyd Arakhamia, a Ukrainian parliamentary representative at the talks, made a similar claim. “They were hoping almost to the end to put pressure on us to sign such a document and accept neutrality. It was a big deal for them,” he said in November 2023, referring to the Russians. “They were ready to end the war if we, like Finland once did, would accept neutrality and pledge not to join NATO. In fact, that was the main point. All the rest are cosmetic and political ‘additions.’”
The Guardian also reported in 2024:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/apr/22/boris-johnson-ukraine-2022-peace-talks-russia
Did Boris Johnson really sabotage peace talks between Russia and Ukraine? The reality is more complicated
At the same time, the article [https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/talks-could-have-ended-war-ukraine] shows that many of the opposing narratives – that neither Ukraine nor Russia are willing to negotiate, or that Ukraine’s Nato membership isn’t important to Russia – are also false. The two sides were able to agree on some major concessions, mostly around the question of the postwar European security order, and they were willing to talk, even in the face of a brutal ongoing war. And although there are other reasons why the talks failed, the promise of western commitments undoubtedly did play a role in undermining the Ukrainian willingness to come to an agreement at that time.
SWP in 2022 reported:
https://www.swp-berlin.org/10.18449/2022C65/
Peace Talks Between Russia and Ukraine: Mission Impossible
The Istanbul Communiqué laid out Ukraine’s position and its response to the original Russian ultimatum. The document offered far-reaching concessions. Participants in the talks emphasised that the Communiqué had been pre-agreed by the parties and could have formed the basis for a negotiated settlement.
This quite detailed article from Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik-German Institute for International and Security Affairs ends like this:
Peace for Ukraine is a long way off. As the talks to date demonstrate, Moscow’s belligerence and its dismissive attitude to talks represent the biggest obstacles to a diplomatic solution. But Germany and its partners – in close coordination with Kyiv – can already prepare for the moment when talks do become possible again.
Unfortunately Germany today - especially under the Mekon (Merz) and not including the AfD - has not been and is not preparing for this possibility, instead it is remilitarising and talking of war with Russia.