Zelensky says ready to 'sit with Putin' to end Ukraine war

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday he was ready to meet Vladimir Putin face-to-face once Kyiv and its allies had agreed a plan for how they want to end the war.

"I will meet with Russians -- with only one Russian guy, with Putin -- only after we will have common plan with Trump, Europe," Zelensky said in English at the Munich Security Conference. "And we will sit with Putin and stop the war. Only in this case I'm ready to meet."

"Ukraine will need to double its army if unable to join NATO"

Zelensky on Friday told the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine would need to double the size of its army to 1.5 million people if it is unable to join the NATO military alliance.

But the Ukrainian leader also acknowledged that the United States was against Kyiv joining the alliance, adding that he believed Washington had never actually seen Ukraine as a NATO member and that they "just talk about it".

Zelensky says Trump gave him his phone number during call

Zelensky said Friday that US President Donald Trump had given him his personal phone number during a call between the leaders earlier this week.

"Yes, he gave me his telephone number," Zelensky said at an event at the Munich Security Conference, adding that Trump had told the Ukrainian leader: "You can call anytime."