Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is prepared to meet Vladimir Putin this week, shortly after US President Donald Trump urged him to “immediately” accept the Russian leader’s offer to hold peace talks in Turkey.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday challenged Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to meet him personally in Turkey on Thursday, the latest move in a weekend-long exchange of proposals from both sides on the next steps in the US-led peace effort.

"I will be waiting for Putin in Türkiye on Thursday. Personally," the Ukrainian leader writes after Trump urged him to "have the meeting, now!"