Zelensky says Russian ceasefire memorandum is an “ultimatum”

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday Russia had handed Ukraine a series of old ultimatums at peace talks in Istanbul this week, calling instead for a meeting with Vladimir Putin to break the impasse.

More than three years into Russia's “special military operation”, which has cost tens of thousands of lives, the two sides have opened direct talks searching for a way to end what has become Europe's largest conflict since World War II.

The fighting has pitted Kyiv and its Western allies against the Kremlin, whose demands have made clear it is seeking little short of capitulation from Ukraine.

At a second round of negotiations on Monday, the two sides swapped documents with their terms for a ceasefire and agreed a large-scale prisoner exchange, which could go forward this weekend.

But Zelensky blasted Russia's demands and cast doubt on whether the talks in their current format would achieve anything.

"It is, after all, an ultimatum from the Russian side to us," Zelensky told reporters of the Russian demands.

Moscow's demands included Ukraine fully pulling out of four regions -- Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia -- that Russia claims to have annexed but does not have full control over.

The Ukrainian leader said it was "pointless" to hold further talks with Russian delegates at their current rank -- who he previously dismissed as "empty heads" -- since they could not agree a ceasefire.

He instead renewed his call for a sit-down with Russian counterpart Putin and US President Donald Trump.

“Any day”

"We are ready for such a meeting any day," Zelensky said, adding he was proposing a ceasefire be put in place before any such summit, which would also include Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The White House said earlier this week that Trump was "open" to meeting after the two sides failed to make headway towards a ceasefire.

But speaking in Moscow shortly after Zelensky, Putin immediately dismissed the idea of direct talks and rejected the call for an unconditional ceasefire.

"Why reward them by giving them a break from the combat, which will be used to pump the regime with Western arms, to continue their forced mobilisation and to prepare different terrorist acts," Putin said at a televised meeting.

"Who negotiates with those who place their bets on terror?" he added.

The only concrete agreement to come out of the talks has been a series of large-scale prisoner exchanges.

Zelensky said the sides were planning to exchange 500 POWs this weekend.

In Moscow, lead Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinsky confirmed in comments to Putin that the exchange would take place on Saturday, Sunday or Monday.

Russia's military ventures has left swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine destroyed, with millions forced to flee their homes in Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

Despite both Zelensky and Putin appearing to question whether progress was possible, Russia's foreign minister praised the Istanbul talks.

"I think it is important and useful," Sergei Lavrov told Putin.

"Both rounds, as we know, have yielded concrete results," he said, referring to the POW swaps.

Kyiv urges more sanctions

Ukrainian troops have been suffering months of setbacks on the battlefield as Russian forces steadily advance across key sectors of the sprawling front line.

Russia's army said it had captured another village in Ukraine's Sumy border region, the latest in a string of gains as it seeks to establish what it calls a "buffer zone" inside Ukrainian territory.

Zelensky urged Kyiv's military backers to ramp up support in a bid to pressure Russia towards peace.

"We must not allow Russia to blur reality or mislead the world. Moscow must be forced into diplomacy," Zelensky said in a video message at a NATO meeting.

The call comes as the United States has stepped back from its support under Trump, pushing instead for a quick end to the fighting and starting a rapprochement with Putin.

Kyiv has however sought to gain assurances of continued support from the White House. On Wednesday, senior Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak met US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington.

"We discussed the situation on the front line and the need to strengthen support for Ukraine in the field of air defence," Yermak said, adding he had urged more US sanctions on Russia.