Ukrainian President said he was ready to swap land in negotiations with Russia, which freed at least one American prisoner in what US President Donald Trump described, February 11, as a goodwill gesture on ending the war, writes Le Monde.

Volodymyr Zelensky has in the past has refused to cede any territory after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. But in an interview with the Guardian published Tuesday, he said Kyiv was ready for serious talks ahead of a Friday meeting at the Munich Security Conference with US Vice President JD Vance - a vocal critic of US military support to Ukraine.

“We will swap one territory for another”, Zelensky said, adding that he was ready to trade land in Russia"s Kursk region – which Ukraine seized in a surprise offensive last year. He acknowledged that Ukraine would not be able to enjoy security guarantees just with European partners: “Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees”.

Trump confirmed Monday that he would soon dispatch his special envoy Keith Kellogg, who is tasked with drawing up a proposal to halt the fighting, to Ukraine. The US president is pressing for a swift end to the conflict, while Zelensky is calling for tough security guarantees from Washington as part of any deal.