Zelensky addressed the invitation Tuesday night during a public speech, urging Putin to restore a ceasefire in the region where he said “millions of lives” were at stake.
“A proposal was made to meet at the contact line to see and understand the situation as accurately as possible. What should I understand? I go there every month. Mr. Putin!” Zelensky said.
“I am ready to go even further and invite you to meet everywhere in the Ukrainian Donbass, where there is war,” he said.
The US estimated that the Russian army had moved more than 40 tactical groups from the battalion to the Russia-Ukraine border, which could total 40,000 troops. This would be the largest build-up of Russian troops near Ukraine since 2014, when Russian troops invaded the country and occupied the Crimean peninsula.
Earlier Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense said more than 20 ships had also taken part in exercises in the Black Sea, which borders both countries. A unit of ships consisting of frigates “Admiral Makarov” and “Admiral Essen”, small missile ships “Grayvoron” and “Vyshny Volochek”, as well as rocket boats, small anti-submarine ships and large amphibious ships conducted an exercise to repel airstrike means of a simulated enemy using active electronic trapping and the conditional use of air defenses, ‘reads a statement from the ministry.
In his speech, Zelensky called on Ukrainian citizens to unite amid the Russian military threat. “Ukraine and Russia, despite their common past, look to the future differently. We are us. You are you. But this is not necessarily an issue, this is an opportunity. At least – an opportunity before it late, to stop the deadly math of future military losses. ‘
He blamed Russia for refusing a “general declaration” to restore a complete ceasefire in the region, despite “the support of all parties”.
Last week, the Ukrainian president met in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel – who joined via a video link – to discuss the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine and the occupation of Ukrainian territories. The three leaders ended their meeting by calling on Russia to withdraw additional troops gathered at the Ukrainian border.
Reporting contributed by Anna Chernova of CNN and Zahra Ullah in Moscow.