Volodymyr Zelensky agrees US peace deal and says: 'There is a chance to end this war'

The Ukrainian President called it "one of the most challenging and yet optimistic moments at the same time" for peace in his country.

"Now more than ever there is a chance to end this war"

The Ukrainian leader added that he was ready to meet with President Donald Trump again but that it would depend on how successful the ongoing talks in Moscow were.

Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin has described it as a "great honour" to host the Ukranian President on his first official visit to Ireland.

Speaking alongside Mr Zelensky during a joint press conference at Government Buildings in Dublin, Mr Martin said Ireland will continue to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes."

He added Ireland is "open to contributing to peacekeeping and peace monitoring in Ukraine".

A Russian source said the Trump administration's attempts to find peace was the best chance to end the war since talks with Ukraine broke down shortly after Russia's 2022 invasion.

President Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner were due to meet Russian Premier Vladimir Putin.

The Republican has said he wants to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two but his efforts so far, including a summit with Putin in Alaska in August and meetings with President Zelensky, have not yet brought peace.

Conflict erupted in eastern Ukraine in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine's Maidan Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed separatist forces fighting Ukraine's armed forces.

Russian forces control more than 19 per cent of Ukraine, or 115,600 square km (45,000 square miles), up one percentage point from two years ago, and have advanced in 2025 at the fastest pace since 2022, according to pro-Ukrainian maps.

US officials have put the casualty toll in the war at more than 1.2 million killed or wounded. Neither Ukraine nor Russia discloses their losses.

The conflict has also caused widespread destruction in Ukrainian towns and cities and forced many people from their homes.

Since the US draft proposals emerged late last month, European powers have been trying to bolster Ukraine against what they see as a punitive pro-Russian peace that could open up Russia to US investment in oil, gas and rare earths and return Moscow to the G8.

As part of the Kremlin demands, Ukraine would never join Nato, caps would be implemented on the Ukrainian army, Russia would control of the whole of Donbas.

International governments would also acknowledge Russian control of the regions of Crimea, Donbas, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, and there would be protection for Russian speakers and Russian Orthodox believers in Ukraine.

Ukraine says those would amount to capitulation and leave it prone to eventual conquest by Russia, though the United States has also floated a 10-year security guarantee for Kyiv.