The leaders of Ukraine and Russia signaled that their previous refusal to talk to each other has softened, following US President Donald Trump's promise to end Moscow's full-scale invasion.

Days after Ukrainian troops seized part of Russia’s Kursk region in a surprise attack, President Vladimir Putin told defense officials their “main objective” was to repel the invasion. Six months later,

That will take some doing. Putin remains uninterested in peace talks as long as Russian troops continue to gain ground in Ukraine’s east, albeit at a slow pace, and while Ukrainian forces hold seized territory in the Kursk region inside Russia, according to John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and other former officials.

President Donald Trump says his administration has already had “very serious” discussions with Russia about its war in Ukraine and that he and Russian President Vladimir Putin could soon take “significant” action toward ending the grinding conflict.

In an interview published on Tuesday, the Ukrainian president said that he would be willing to sit at the negotiating table with his Russian counterpart, if that was the only to "bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine and not lose people.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to have direct peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war.

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying he was ready for direct talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin as "empty words".

In an interview, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared his willingness to hold direct negotiations with Vladimir Putin. However, the USA and Europe would also have to take part in the negotiations. Zelenskyy would conduct the negotiations in order to 'bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine'.

In an interview with Piers Morgan, Zelensky said he is willing to engage in direct talks with Putin "if that is the only setup in which we can bring peace to the citizens of Ukraine..." "I will not be kind to him.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he is willing to enter into direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin under certain conditions.