Kremlin invites Zelenskiy to Moscow for peace talks amid Ukraine war

The Kremlin reaffirmed its invitation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to travel to Moscow for peace talks, signaling Moscow's continued openness to dialogue as international mediators push for a negotiated end to the nearly four-year war. The invitation was confirmed by spokesman Dmitry Peskov, relayed via Interfax, and comes as Kyiv has not yet publicly responded.

The statement arrives as both sides conduct the latest exchanges of war dead, and as questions linger about whether Moscow and Kyiv have paused attacks on energy infrastructure. Washington-led peace efforts in Abu Dhabi last weekend have injected momentum into the talks, though substantial rifts remain on who controls territory and what a post-war security framework would look like, including the possible presence of international peacekeepers or monitors. The fate of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains a sticking point.

An unnamed U.S. official said Zelenskiy and Putin were 'very close' to arranging a meeting after the Abu Dhabi discussions, and a new round of talks between delegations is scheduled for Sunday, January 31. Kyiv, meanwhile, has not publicly committed to Moscow's invitation. Zelenskiy had reportedly rejected a similar invitation last year.

Fierce fighting continues, and Ukraine faces power outages from recent missile strikes, underscoring that even as diplomacy expands, the human toll persists. U.S. President Donald Trump has said there are 'very good things' happening in the process, adding another political dynamic to the international mediation effort.

Overall, officials warn that while the invitation signals willingness to engage, the path to a durable peace remains uncertain and protracted, with both sides seeking guarantees that go beyond words on a page.

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