Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he intends to offer Russian land that Ukrainian forces have captured in Russia's Kursk region in exchange for territory occupied by Russia if Ukraine and Russia sit down to talk about ending the war.
"We will exchange one territory for another," Zelensky said in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian.
However, he added that he does not know what territory Kiev would demand from Moscow in exchange for part of the Kursk region.
"I don't know, we'll see. But all our territories are important, there is no priority here," Zelensky said in the interview published on February 11.
In the past, Zelensky had rejected the possibility of handing over territory occupied by Russia, which launched its full invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Trump warns Kiev that "Ukraine could become Russian one day"
Zelensky, who will meet with US Vice President JD Vance and other US officials on February 14 at the Munich Security Conference, said he is ready for serious talks.
The interview was published just hours before another deadly Russian missile attack on Kiev.
Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said the rockets struck in the early hours of February 12, killing at least one person and wounding three others.
"Russia carried out a missile attack on Kiev and the Kiev region," said Andriy Yermak, head of Zelensky's office. "This is how [Russian President Vladimir Putin] wants to end the war," he added on Telegram.
Emergency services were called to at least four districts of the Ukrainian capital, and the military administration said fires broke out in several buildings, including residential buildings.
The attacks in the Sumy region on February 11 killed at least two civilians, wounded two others and caused extensive damage to residential buildings and other property, the press service of the regional military administration said.
US President Donald Trump, who has been skeptical about continued US support for Kiev, is pushing for a deal to end the war and has stepped up diplomatic efforts in recent days.
His envoy for Russia and Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, will also attend the Munich Security Conference and then travel to Ukraine.
Trump has complained about the cost of aid the United States has poured into Ukraine and said the US will demand something in return.
"They may make a deal, they may not make a deal, it may become Russian one day, or it may not become Russian one day. But, we're going to have all this money there and I say we're going to take that money," Trump said on February 10 in an interview with Fox News.
In exchange for aid to Ukraine, Trump wants its rare minerals. Why?
Zelensky told the Guardian newspaper that last year he proposed to Trump the idea that the United States would have primary access to Ukraine's rare earth minerals as part of a deal to end the war.
He said that Ukraine has the largest reserves of uranium and titanium in Europe and informed Trump that it would not be in the United States' interest for these reserves to fall into the hands of Russia and perhaps be shared with North Korea, China or Iran.
Recently, Trump has mentioned rare earth minerals as part of a deal for the war in Ukraine and said that US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will travel to Ukraine to discuss rare earth minerals.
Zelensky said he intends to present Trump administration officials with "a more detailed plan" for rare earth minerals and other opportunities for American companies as part of Ukraine's post-war reconstruction.
He also stressed that US military support remains essential for Ukraine's security.
"Security guarantees without America are not genuine security guarantees," he said, making another call for more US-made Patriot air defense systems. (A2 Televizion)
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