Zelenskyy said he would travel to Turkey after US President Donald Trump urged him to meet Putin.

On Thursday, the Russian president proposed direct negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv in Turkey, following the ultimatum from Kyiv’s European partners last Saturday, which called for a ceasefire or the imposition of sanctions on Moscow.

Whether or not Trump participates, the U.S. representative to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, along with Trump’s foreign advisor Steve Witkoff, are both scheduled to be in Istanbul for the negotiations, according to a senior administration source.

The plan was for the US officials to observe the Turkish-facilitated talks between the Ukrainians and Russians.

Meanwhile, the situation on the ground in eastern Ukraine doesn’t seem to suggest Russia is preparing for a ceasefire. Russian troops have been inching forward in several key areas along the frontline and launching near daily drones and missile attacks against Ukrainian cities.

Still, the frontline in eastern Ukraine has not moved dramatically in recent months, with neither side able to break through.

The ISW said on Monday that Russia has reportedly deployed a largely ceremonial regiment of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to the frontline, which the ISW said was “likely in an effort to generate fear of more rapid future Russian advances”.