(Read the full article on Politico.com)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to meet him in his country’s war-torn eastern Donbass region for peace talks, amid growing international concern over Russia’s massive buildup of troops at the border, POLITICO said.

In a 13-minute speech late Tuesday, Zelenskiy began by addressing his fellow citizens in the Ukrainian language with an explanation of the current crisis, reassuring them that while an escalation wasn’t inevitable and Kyiv wouldn’t strike first, they should not be afraid because the Ukraine of 2021 was prepared for war, POLITICO reported.

Then, 10 minutes into his speech, Zelenskiy switched to the Russian language and addressed Putin directly: “Once, the president of the Russian Federation said ‘if a fight is inevitable, you need to strike first.’ But in my opinion, today every leader must understand that a fight cannot be inevitable when we’re not talking about back alleys and hooligans, but a real war and millions of human lives. And unlike in a fight, in a war, all sides lose,” the news agency cited him as saying.

“Mr. Putin,” Zelenskiy said, “I propose we meet anywhere in the Ukrainian Donbass, where there is a war,” referring to the conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russia-backed separatists that has been ongoing since 2014, POLITICO said.