That put the attendance of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky up in the air, given he had hinged his presence at the talks on whether Putin would also be there. Mr Zelensky said in a social media post on Thursday morning that he was “waiting to see who will come from Russia, and then I will decide which steps Ukraine should take”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky plans to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Thursday, and only then decide what steps to take on peace talks with Russia, a senior official told AFP.

The chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency asserts, in an interview with Le Monde, that Volodymyr Zelensky is ready to negotiate with Russia, alongside the US and Europe, but demands a complete and unconditional ceasefire beforehand.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his meeting with President Trump last week was the “best” the two have had, coming amid reports that the US is finalizing new sanctions on

Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow are set to hold their first direct talks on the possibility of ending the war in Ukraine.

David Lammy slammed Vladimir Putin for sending a "low-level" delegation to peace talks with Ukraine instead of facing Volodymyr Zelensky himself.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Nariman Dzhelialov, First Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, as Ukraine’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Türkiye.