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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Tuesday that he will be in the Turkish capital this week, prepared to hold direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin regarding the ongoing war.

While Putin has not clarified his participation, the talks are being brokered by US President Donald Trump as part of efforts to bring an end to the conflict, according to a report by Associated Press.

Zelenskyy stated that he will be in Ankara, the capital city of Turkish, on Thursday to conduct the negotiations. He has also planned to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with whom he will wait for Putin to arrive.

He added that if Putin prefers Istanbul as the venue, both leaders are willing to relocate the meeting accordingly. “If Putin does not arrive and plays games, it is the final point that he does not want to end the war,” Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian leader urged European and US leaders to impose powerful sanctions against Russia if the Russian President doesn’t come up for talks. Meanwhile, Russia launched 10 Shahed and decoy drones overnight at Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force claimed.

The Kremlin hasn’t reacted directly to the challenge of Zelenskyy for Putin to meet him in person at the negotiating table.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted for the second consecutive day on Tuesday to indicate that whether Putin will go to Istanbul and who will represent Russia for the talks. “As soon as the president considers it necessary, we will make an announcement,” Peskov said.

In response, Russia announced that it would send a delegation to Istanbul without preconditions.

Since US President Donald Trump took office in January with a pledge to end the war, Washington has been exerting significant pressure on both Russia and Ukraine to engage in peace negotiations.

Military experts believe both nations are gearing up for a spring-summer offensive along the 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line, where a grueling war of attrition has already claimed tens of thousands of lives on each side.

According to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, Russia is rapidly replenishing its frontline forces with new recruits to maintain momentum on the battlefield.

Zelenskyy’s Plans To Meet Only President Putin In Turkey

Zelenskyy’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Tuesday during a YouTube program hosted by exiled Russian journalists that Zelenskyy has no plans to meet with any Russian officials other than President Putin. He added that holding lower-level discussions would only serve to delay the peace process.

European leaders have recently accused Putin of stalling negotiations while attempting to leverage Russia's larger military force to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Despite Ukraine and Western European leaders calling for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting Monday, Russia responded with a barrage of over 100 drone strikes on Ukraine and instead proposed direct peace talks.

“Ukraine is ready for any format of negotiations with Russia, but a ceasefire must come first,” Andrii Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said.