The president’s comments came after he said Crimea “will stay with Russia,” a position backed by the mayor of Kyiv, who conceded that his country may have to give up territory.

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that his country would be ready to hold talks with Russia in any format once a ceasefire deal is in place and the fighting has stopped. Zelenskyy,

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated Russia's willingness to hold talks with Ukraine without any preconditions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.