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.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his readiness to engage in direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the ongoing conflict. He emphasized that such talks should include the United States,

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.