President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 19 that Ukraine has proposed new peace talks with Russia for next week, with National Security Council Secretary Rustem Umerov extending the offer and signaling readiness for high-level discussions.

The warring sides remain far apart after the third round of U.S.-brokered peace negotiations on Wednesday. But there was progress on humanitarian issues.

Ukrainian and Russian officials ended their third round of peace negotiations in under an hour Wednesday — falling short of establishing a cease-fire but agreeing to a prison swap. The talks took place in Istanbul just over a week after President Trump threatened Russian President Vladimir Putin with “very severe tariffs” if he doesn’t commit to a cease-fire in Ukraine within 50 days.