Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky renewed his invitation on Saturday to a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "to end the war."

"I think that whoever started this war can end it," Zelensky said at a press conference inside a metro station in central Kyiv, reiterating that he was "not afraid to meet" with the Russian president if this would lead to a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Zelensky announced Saturday that his country would withdraw from negotiations with Moscow if the Russian army killed Ukrainian soldiers holed up in the Azovstal Metallurgical Complex in the city of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine.

"If our men are killed in Mariupol, and if false referendums are held in the Kherson region (southern), Ukraine will withdraw from any negotiating process," Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed a planned visit by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Kyiv on Sunday.