Volodymyr Zelensky

"Grateful for the readiness to work as actively as possible already in the weeks to come to give a boost to diplomacy for ending Russia's war against Ukraine," wrote Zelensky on Telegram.

This comes after Zelensky published an open letter to the Russian president on Thursday evening in which he called on Putin to agree to direct talks and end the war. 

Zelensky condemned the strike as “extremely vile,” saying Russia deliberately targeted critical nuclear infrastructure near Chernobyl.

The European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine to manage large-scale arrivals of displaced people.

"Do not be afraid to take the path out of this war. That is the main thing that is required of you now," Zelensky wrote in his open letter to Putin.

"I am ready for direct talks with Putin to bring this war to an end, rather than waiting for when all will resolve every conflict in the world before our turn finally comes," Zelensky said.

Explosions reverberated through the city shortly after 1 a.m. local time after the air force announced a threat of an Oreshnik launch on its Telegram channel.

"We are defending Europe – fully, not partially, and not with half-measures," said Zelensky. "Ukraine deserves a fair approach and equal rights within Europe."

Belarus said the exercise would test the military's readiness to deploy nuclear weapons in different areas of the country.

Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow in over a year, killing at least four people in Russia, local officials said.