Ukraine is working on a previously agreed-upon 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 21. "We have to release all our people, unconditionally. We are trying to do the maximum we can.

In their first public meeting since their historic Oval Office blow-up, Vice President JD Vance shook hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. They then had a “good meeting” at the US ambassador to Italy’s home.

The Vatican has a long history of conflict mediation, with varying degrees of success. An effort by the pope to end the war in Ukraine would face long odds.

President Volodymyr Zelensky reaffirmed his administration’s refusal to withdraw troops “from our own land,” rejecting any Russian ceasefire terms that would require further retreat from Ukrainian regions currently occupied by Russian forces.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the stakes ahead of a potential meeting with Vladimir Putin in Turkey by saying he wouldn’t hold talks with any Russian representative other than the president himself.