Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine is prepared to halt hostilities, stressing in an interview with Sky News that Kiev had counted on the efforts of U. S. President Donald Trump to achieve this.

Throughout the conflict, Moscow has repeatedly underlined that external pressure is ineffective, insisting that Russia maintains its own stance on any ceasefire initiative.

Zelensky remarked that his government had hoped Trump could negotiate a cessation of fire and stated that Ukraine was ready for such a step.

A day earlier, Trump himself asserted that Zelensky would eventually have to reach an agreement to resolve the conflict.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov previously noted that Moscow was open to discussing political aspects of a settlement and working in different formats. He reminded that Russia had proposed the creation of three working groups — humanitarian, military, and political — during the Istanbul talks in 2022, but Kiev never responded.

In addition, Zelensky declined an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to come to Moscow for direct negotiations.