Zelensky, who will meet Friday at the Munich Security Conference with US Vice President JD Vance, a vocal critic of US military support to Ukraine, described himself as ready for serious talks.
Zelensky, who in the past has refused to cede any territory invaded by Russia, said he was ready to trade land in Russia's Kursk region which Ukraine seized in a surprise offensive last year.
“Security guarantees without America are not real security guarantees,“ he said.
In the first known visit by a member of the Trump administration to Russia since he returned to the White House last month, envoy Steve Witkoff secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American jailed since 2021 on drug charges.
The White House described his release as part of an “exchange,“ without offering further details.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, where state-run news agencies quoted the White House announcement.
Witkoff, a property developer and friend of Trump, is officially the Middle East envoy and earlier played a key role in pushing forward a fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
- 'Russian someday' -
“The fact that a significant part of Ukraine wants to become Russia, and has already, is a fact,“ Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to Moscow’s 2022 annexation of four Ukrainian regions after referendums widely criticized internationally as fraudulent.
“It is some kind of senile insanity,“ Kyiv resident Daniil told AFP.
Trump in the past has voiced admiration for Putin and notoriously backed his denial of the US intelligence community's finding of Russian interference in the Republican's 2016 election victory.
Both armies are trying to secure an advantage on the battlefield ahead of possible talks.
In Ukraine's northern Sumy region, regional prosecutors said Russian bombing killed a 40-year-old man and a 30-year-old woman.
Biden shut off most contact with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Fogel, 63, was teaching at the Anglo-American School in Moscow when he was arrested in August 2021 over 21 grams of cannabis and cannabis oil allegedly found with him at the Moscow airport.
burs-sct-st/dw
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Zelensky offers land swaps as Russia heartens Trump with prisoner release )
Also on site :