Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, facing a sharp spike in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia plans to invade, calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him and seek a resolution to the crisis.
“I don’t know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,” Zelenskyy says at the Munich Security Conference, where he also met with US Vice President Kamala Harris. Zelensky says Russia could pick the location for the talks.
“Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement.”
There is no immediate response from the Kremlin.
Zelensky speaks hours after separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine ordered a full military mobilization, while Western leaders make increasingly dire warnings that a Russian invasion of its neighbor appears imminent.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky attends a meeting with Britain’s prime minister during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2022. (Matt Dunham/Pool/AFP)
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