Ukraine, Russia Edge Closer to Peace Talks

(MENAFN) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Kyiv had nudged Moscow toward direct negotiations, as both sides inch cautiously toward a potential face-to-face summit to end a war now entering its fifth year.

"Now, Putin himself says that he is finally ready for real meetings. We pushed him a little toward this, and we have long been ready for such meetings ourselves -- now a format must be found," Zelenskyy said, according to the presidential press service, adding: "This war must be ended, and security must be guaranteed reliably."

The statement followed remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday, in which he declared his readiness to meet Zelenskyy in a neutral third country — though strictly to formalize a final peace agreement, not to negotiate its terms.

Zelenskyy simultaneously announced progress on a large-scale prisoner exchange, disclosing that Kyiv had submitted its detainee lists to Moscow.

"Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters has handed over the lists for one thousand POWs (prisoners of war) to the Russian side," he said.

Despite the diplomatic overtures, Zelenskyy leveled sharp accusations at Russian forces for repeatedly breaching a ceasefire declared the previous week. He cited more than 150 assault operations, upward of 100 shelling incidents, and close to 10,000 kamikaze drone strikes recorded over just 48 hours.

"In other words, the Russian army is not observing any silence on the front and is not even particularly trying to," he said on Telegram.

He did, however, note that no large-scale air or missile campaigns had been launched "as of now," and confirmed that Ukraine had voluntarily held back from conducting long-range strikes during that same window — a gesture he framed as reciprocal restraint.

"Going forward, we will respond in kind. And if the Russians decide to return to full-scale warfare, our sanctions for this will be immediate and tangible," he said.

The fragile pause traces back to dueling ceasefire declarations earlier this week. Russia announced a Victory Day truce spanning May 8–9, prompting Ukraine to counter with its own truce declaration beginning May 6. Former U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently claimed on his Truth Social platform Friday that both nations had agreed to a three-day ceasefire running from Saturday through Monday, alongside the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange — expressing gratitude toward both Putin and Zelenskyy for their participation.

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