Ukrainian president affirms readiness for dialogue “in any format” once fighting stops
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Tuesday that Ukraine would be prepared to enter into talks with Russia in any format once a cease-fire is in place and hostilities between Kyiv and Moscow’s forces have ceased.
Speaking at a press briefing at the presidential office in Kyiv, Zelensky told reporters that a Ukrainian delegation scheduled to meet Wednesday in London with officials from Western countries has been authorized to discuss a full or partial cease-fire.
“We are ready to officially confirm that after a cease-fire, we are willing to sit down in any format to avoid dead ends,” Zelensky said during the briefing.
“Not everything can be agreed upon quickly,” he cautioned, pointing to several highly complex issues, including territory, security guarantees, and Ukraine’s potential membership in the NATO military alliance.
The upcoming talks in London—bringing together representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Ukraine—come amid intense diplomatic efforts led by Washington to find a pathway toward ending Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Zelensky also expressed his willingness to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, should both leaders attend the funeral of Pope Francis.
Separately, the Ukrainian president condemned fresh Russian attacks on civilian areas in Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa, and reiterated that his proposal to Moscow for a temporary halt in strikes on civilian infrastructure remains in effect.
He recalled that Ukraine had accepted and proposed an extension of the 30-hour cease-fire unilaterally declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Easter holiday.
After the Kremlin declined to extend the truce, Zelensky proposed a one-month cease-fire focused solely on halting missile and drone attacks targeting civilian infrastructure.
“Our proposal to stop attacks on civilian infrastructure is still on the table,” Zelensky wrote Tuesday on social media.
One woman was killed in the city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday when Russia struck the area with aerial bombs, wounding around twenty others. A Russian drone strike on Kharkiv also caused multiple injuries.
“All of this is deliberate Russian terrorism that could be stopped with a simple order—a single order in Russia, and to the Russian Army,” Zelensky said.
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